Again
by ramdog
Summary: After defeating Ultimecia, Squall suddenly appears at the beginning. He must try to use his knowledge of the future to prevent disasters from ocurring, but is it possible?
1. Chapter 1

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 1

My journey had been so long and agonizing. I'd endured so much pain, to my body and to my soul. But it was over. The final strike to Ultimecia, defeating the demonic sorceress and thereby returning time back to the way it was and canceling everything she had done. I would start a new life, with my friends and with Rinoa. We had all suffered so much, and now we would all live happily ever after.

All of us stood and watched as Ultimecia roared and collapsed in her final moments of life, her plans in ruin and everything she had hoped for suddenly coming to an end. Her future would be cut short while ours would continue on. Her ten-foot conglomeration of a body began to dissolve, slowly, drifting away into nothingness, fading…fading…then gone.

I felt my heart beginning to swell with resolve, the end of my quest. Everyone else stood in silence, a sense of pride and finality showing in their tired and worn faces. We were all ready for it to be over, to get on with life free of time compression.

I was so sure that everything would be fine after she had been defeated, but it wasn't. Because the moment Ultimecia was gone, the strangest and unimaginable of things happened; I found myself staring at Seifer Almasy, his blade pointed straight at me from afar.

I couldn't move, I was so completely bewildered at what could have just occurred. Once I finally gathered my thoughts, I looked around at my surroundings. They were the rocky plains of Balamb, not the endless space I had just but a few seconds ago witnessed the final battle with the sorceress from the future. All my companions were gone, Zell, Irvine, Quistis, Selphie, and Rinoa were not by my side as before. I was alone, except for Seifer, who was beginning to look impatient. I looked down to observe my gun blade. While I had been fighting Ultimecia, it had been the stronger weapon, Punishment, but now, it was the original Revolver that I so remembered. My clothes were not torn and stained with blood, and my body had no recent wounds.

Astonishment could not nearly describe what I had felt then. I knew that there was a possibility that something strange would happen with time once Ultimecia had been defeated, but this wasn't right. I knew what this was; I had fought and lost to Seifer in this very place and at this very time only recently near the Balamb mountains, before I even became a SeeD.

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Squall was standing there, poised for combat, but for some unexplained reason, he froze, a look of confusion so apparent in his face as he looked around, then at his weapon and his body, like he had never seen them before in his life. _This could be some kind of trick to catch me off guard,_ I thought. _Nice try, Squall. Strange, he usually doesn't use tricks when fighting..._ Squall and I had been fighting for years, but this time was different. Very often, we would pick a fight in the hallways or outside, hand to hand, but this time, I wanted blood. I needed the practice of fighting with my gun blade if i were to become a SeeD, after all. This time, someone could get hurt, and this time, someone would get hurt, and it would not be me, that's for sure.

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"Hey, quit playing games and lets do this thing!" Seifer yelled.

I looked up just in time to see Seifer lunge at me with his gun blade that i instinctively dodged and quickly countered with my own. I needed time to think about what was happening, needed to consider what was going on, why I was here and where all my friends were, what I would do, and how I would get through this, but I was being rushed and had no choice but to fight and get this over with. Seifer and I attacked and parried as the battle raged on. But I had the upper hand here. I had fought with Seifer so many times that I had learned his attack patterns and fighting style. He could not land any blows to me while I defended and attacked, landing a hit whenever I got the chance. Seifer began to get inpatient, however, and stepped back to prepare a fire spell. I knew this attack was coming, so I rushed him with my elbow, landing it square in his gut before he could cast. He fell the ground while I loomed over him, my gun blade pointed at him, signifying my victory. Staring at Seifer, I noticed that he was missing the scar on his face that I had once given him. I felt my face for any scars, but I did not feel that familiar mark that Seifer was supposed to have given me. That's when things began to make some sense, maybe…

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Squall knocked me down before I could cast my fire spell which surely would have gotten me the upper hand in the fight, but here I was, staring at him from below, he had won. _I could try to attack him, he seems hesitant after all, and why the hell is he touching his face? Maybe he's dizzy or something; now's my chance..._

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Right before I could pinpoint what was going on, Seifer reached for his blade and swung it at my face, slicing me just to the left of my nose. My blood flew through the air, my face covered in crimson. I was knocked backwards, but retained my balance and I countered with my blade, cutting Seifer just to the right of his nose, knocking him down, his blood splashing to the ground. I don't know if it was because I felt that I had to defend myself or if it was some unknown force altogether that caused me to cut Seifer then, but we were both left with permanent scars, once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the familiar white ceiling in the Balamb Garden infirmary. I was hoping that what had just happened had been a dream, that all my friends would be there and would give me a rational explanation, but I wasn't so lucky. I heard someone whisper something in the bed next to mine. The voice sounded like my sis, Ellone. I immediately sat up in the hospital bed just in time to witness a figure walk quickly out of the room.

"Ellone, wait!" I attempted to yell, but my throat was too dry and hoarse to speak any louder.

Dr. Kadowaki stood up from her desk and brought me a cup of water. I nodded in appreciation and guzzled it down quickly. _Ellone might know something about what's going on, I have to talk to her._ I attempted to get out of bed and chase down Ellone, but Kadowaki eased me back down before I could stand.

"Whoa now, tough guy, how are you feeling?"

_Confused, out of place_, I wanted to say. I didn't really know Dr. Kadowaki all that well, but I trusted her with my life. During the battle between Galbadia and Balamb gardens, she helped everyone, no matter who's side they were on, a very admirable quality. I would've told her exactly how I felt, but I didn't really know what was going on yet.

"I'm okay" I lied.

"Take it easy next time, you hear? Looks like your eyes are focusing. You should be fine. Say your name for me."

I could've sworn that this had happened before. This exact same conversation transpired between us not too long ago. I had to say something if I wanted to catch up to Ellone, though.

"…Squall" I finally managed to spit out.

"Why don't you take it easy in training? Next time you might not be so lucky."

I knew that Kadowaki was going to call in Quistis to pick me up and she would lead me back to her classroom where I would receive my first two Guardian Forces. I was so sure of this, because it had happened before. I had to test this theory, however. I decided to see how this played out, then I'd examine the situation. I didn't want to make any mistakes, after all.

"I'll take that under advisement, Dr. Kadowaki, thank you" I said in a sincere tone.

Kadowaki paused for a moment, looking a bit confused at the friendliness of my response, then replied, "Umm, oh, your instructor is…Quistis Trepe! I'll call her now. Just wait here a minute."

The doctor called Quistis, reassuring the instructor that I was alive and well. I hadn't realized how much Quistis cared about me until then. I was looking forward to seeing her, just to see a friendly face would be relieving. I guess I was going to have to wait and catch up with Ellone later. I wasn't even sure if she had anything to do with my situation, but I still needed to talk to her.

Quistis walked through the door a couple minutes later, letting out a sigh and a smile which looked all too familiar to me. Finally finding a good friend, I couldn't help but smile, which I attempted to hide, to test my theory. "I knew it'd be either you or Seifer! Come on, let's go. Today's the field exam" the blonde instructor exclaimed.

We would walk towards the classroom, she would ask me some personal questions…and as if right on cue, Quistis said, "Squall, is there something on your mind?"

_Yeah, like you'd never believe._ I intended to keep up this Revere routine until I could prove my hypothesis, as it was essential in order to prove my theory. "…it's none of your business." Maybe I had taken it too far, maybe I should lighten up a little bit.

Quistis replied with good humor, "Haha, I knew you were going to say that." I nearly tripped over myself at the irony of her statement. "Whoa, are you alright? You almost fell" Quistis said with a giggle.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of…"

"…myself!" Quistis interrupted.

I just needed a little more evidence, then my theory would be proven. I would walk to the classroom, Quistis would say what I think she would say, then I would receive my first GF's, Quezacotl and Shiva, at which point I would go to my room, but run into Selphie in the halls and she would ask me for a tour. If all of this occurred like I imagined, then I would have a good idea of what was going on.

I arrived at the classroom, where I took my seat and Quistis gave a speech that reeked of deja vu. The instructor told me after class to receive my 'first' GF's from my study panel, which i did. I was then told to meet Quistis in front of the Garden in 1600 hours. I walked out of the classroom, playing the upcoming scene in my head. As predicted, Selphie came running down the hall, where i allowed her to run into me. She would've fallen if i hadn't caught her arm. I would've been happy to see her if i hadn't done this before.

This was my line, "Are you okay?"

"Tee-hee, I'm fine. Good catch! Oh, sorry i was kinda in a hurry. Oh yeah! Hey, did you just come from that class? Is...homeroom over?"

I was right, everything that I thought would happen, happened. The truth hit me harder than i imagined. I couldn't control myself; my knees began to wobble and i nearly lost my balance. I stumbled over to the wall where i leaned my back against it. I needed to think things through. There were so many things that i needed to consider.

Selphie looked confused and said, "Are you alright? Was it something i said or what?"

I wanted nothing more than to be alone right now so that i could think. Actually, i wanted nothing more than to have Rinoa by my side telling me everything would be okay. I couldn't think straight, but i had to say something. I looked up at Selphie and told her quickly, "Selphie, I'm sorry, but i have something i need to do and i can't give you a tour right now. I'll see you later." I walked off swiftly, leaving Selphie to herself.

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_That was strange, i asked him if homeroom was over and he responded as if i had told him that his family had died, geez. What a strange guy, and what was all that tour business? I mean, a could use a tour of this garden, but i didn't ask. And he knows my name..._ "I didn't ask for a tour! And how do you know my name?" But he was already gone and i was already late, so i hurried off. _Maybe I'll see him around, like he said._


	3. Chapter 3

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 3

_I'm reliving my journey,_ I thought. _Somehow, me defeating Ultimecia has disrupted time which is causing me to do this all over again._ It was a flimsy explanation of my situation. It didn't explain exactly how it happened, how I could have prevented it, or why I was sent back to that specific point in time. I was just trying to make some sense out of a bizarre situation.

_Ellone may know something. When I woke in the infirmary, she was at my bedside. I don't remember her being there last time. She must know something. She does have the power to transfer another's consciousness into the past, after all. Maybe she needed to use my consciousness for something again._ I thought that if I had any chance of getting back to my own time, Ellone was the key. _If I can just talk to her, she might be able to explain what was going on. She may have a good reason for doing this._

I laid there on my bed in my dormitory, despair overwhelming me at the thought of having repeat my journey again, having to fight all the battles, go through all the physical and emotional pain that I had suffered through once before. I thought about everything that was to occur. The fight at Dollet, Seifer's shock torture, the destruction of Trabia Garden, watching Rinoa nearly die…it was a lot to endure, and I would have to do it all over again.

I was finally able to force myself out of bed, eager to get the journey over and done with. I had to meet Quistis at the Garden entrance so that I could do my field exam in the Fire Cavern. As I walked, I began to think. _I was able to win the fight with Seifer earlier, so maybe I can prevent some things from occurring. Perhaps my knowledge of future events can stop some of the terrible tragedies from actually happening. When Edea launches her ice magic at me during the parade assassination attempt, maybe I can dodge it this time and we can get away, preventing my team and I from ever going to that terrible Sand Prison and I could avoid Seifer's torture._ I thought about the advantages to try and fight away the despair, and it worked too. Finding good in bad was a defense mechanism I had gained throughout my journey. I began to think that this journey wouldn't be so bad after all.

When I arrived at the Garden's entrance, Quistis was waiting patiently for me, ready to supervise my field exam. I already knew everything there was to know about junctioning magic and how to use Guardian Forces, but I politely listened to her give me the tutorial before we headed off. As we journeyed accross the plains of Balamb towards the Fire Cavern, I made conversation with Quistis, asking friendly questions and making general statements. She was understandably confused at how sociable I was, but she seemed to enjoy our conversation between our battles with monsters here-and-there. I had to remember that Quistis was used to the cold and reserved Squall, not the one she was talking to at the moment. I considered telling her about my current situation, how i've seemingly traveled through time, but that might have been too much for her to handle and she might not understand, so I decided to wait and consider telling her later.

Just as before, when we arrived at the entrance to the Fire Cavern, the two Balamb guards asked us to select a time limit for obtaining the GF, Ifrit. Last time, I had chosen twenty minutes and i completed the objective with time to spare, but I was more skilled and prepared this time around, so I selected a ten minute time limit.

"Ten minutes? Are you sure? Maybe we should make it twenty" Quistis suggested.

"Don't worry, we can do it, and with time to spare, I'm sure of it." I replied confidently.

"Alright, if you know what you're doing." Quistis said with a shrug of her shoulders.

We entered the Cavern, and the dense heat hit me just as I remembered, and we encountered the same enemies that had once lived, then once died, and now lived again, only to be destroyed. The enemies were no match for me as I had fought them so many times before and I now knew their weaknesses, and made it through with only a few minor burns. Quistis seemed to walk fast, most likely trying to make up for the limited time I had set for us to get to the end.

We reached the end of the path set before us, and I looked around, waiting for Ifrit to appear so that we may defeat the fire GF and have it join us in our quest. Quistis asked if I was ready for the fight, even though she seemed like she knew I could do it after witnessing my skills on the way. Ifrit appeared before us soon after and the fight commenced. This was more difficult than the previous battles, even with my knowledge I retained, we required the use of cure spells. I realized that I was not as strong as I was when I had fought Ultimecia. It seems that only my consciousness was transferred into my body in this time period. It reminded me of Ellone's power, how similar my situation is to how her power works.

After Ifrit sustained considerable damage, he agreed to aid us in our quest whenever we required his assistance. Quistis commented, "Hey, you were right, Squall. We defeated the GF with time to spare. I don't think I've ever done this in such a small time frame, impressive…"

The cool, fresh air outside was a welcome change to the dense heat of the cavern, and I took a moment to savor the breeze, with Quistis spying me with a curious glance. We eventually arrived at Balamb Garden, where Quistis instructed me to change into my uniform then to meet her in the lobby. I made my way to my dorm and changed into my uniform, which brought back some memories. _Hmph, a lot will happen while I wear this._

I met Quistis in lobby, as instructed, where I was to meet my team members for the mission. "Squall! Over here! I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let's see... You'll be with... Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow."

I know I said something mean about Zell last time, but I had gotten to know Zell and accept, and even admire, his liveliness. I had to keep in mind that Zell didn't know that I knew this. He literally flipped his way over to me and Quistis, gave us a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Whoa! I'm with you!? You don't get along with Seifer, do you? Heard you whooped him pretty bad this morning."

I was very close to laughing out loud then, seeing as I had already changed things for my benefit. Now people thought that I had defeated Seifer, not the other way around like last time. Quistis mentioned to us that Seifer was our squad leader for the next mission, which i remembered would cause a lot of trouble for us all. Seifer, Rajin, and Fujin approached, the posse still together in this time.

Quistis and Seifer exchanged words and the good instructor was added to the alleged 'The List'. _I still have no idea what that 'The List' is…oh well._ Seifer yelled to me and Zell, making sure to let us know how big his ego was. Headmaster Cid approached and told us the outline of the mission and how our performance would decide if we were to become SeeDs. As the team and I walked to the parking garage and assembled in the car provided to us, I began to think ahead about what becoming a SeeD will do to me. This is where everything begins, this drive would mark the beginning of a very long trip.


	4. Chapter 4

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 4

As we drove towards the town of Balamb, I thought about Seifer and how he was the squad leader. _Once we arrive at Dollet's town square, Seifer will disobey orders and run off. This could be what prevents him from qualifying as a SeeD. Him not being a SeeD will make him attack the president, which will initiate an…_

My thoughts were interrupted by an overexcited Zell. "Yo, Squall. Show me your gun blade, will ya?"

"Not now Zell, maybe later, huh?"

"C'mon man!"

"……"

"Just a peek?" Zell asked as he made a gesture implying peeking.

"……"

"What's on your mind?"

"A lot…" I tried to say at the same time that Quistis tried to predict what I was going to say. "Noth…" Quistis stopped herself, looking mildly embarrassed.

Zell and Seifer quarreled, and I continued thinking, _The president will announce an attack on all Gardens, destroying Trabia and nearly demolishing Balamb. Galbadia will become our enemy and we will have to fight them in that terrible war…all because Seifer won't obey orders._ It was shocking to imagine that one event could cause so many terrible things to happen. _But maybe if I could convince Seifer to follow orders when we get there, he will become a SeeD and none of that will happen, theoretically. It will be tough to convince someone as bull-headed as him, though…_

As if Seifer heard my thoughts, he exclaimed, "This is great, I've got chicken-wuss here and silent Joe over there on my squad."

We arrived in Balamb and approached our sea vessel which would be our transportation to the war zone that was Dollet. Seifer didn't make any comments about me being scared this time. I assumed it was because I defeated him earlier that day. I let out a small chuckle as we approached the ship.

Quistis, Seifer, Zell, and I entered the water vehicle and took our seats as we listened to Xu, our assignment leader, lay out the details to the mission. I listened carefully, making sure I could recall everything that Xu said so that I could use that as a way of convincing Seifer to follow orders. Our precise orders were to wait inside the Dollet Square and eliminate any and every G-troop that we encounter, then withdraw immediately once the order has been announced. Seifer expressed his displeasure towards the mission objective under the premise that it sounded boring. Convincing him would be harder than I had thought. Seifer ordered me to check out what was going on outside, and I reluctantly did what I was told.

I stared at the small flashing explosions off in the distance. Every time I saw one, I knew someone had died. I had experienced the horror of this view before, and in case I had forgotten, I was forced to see it again.

Our team arrived on the shore and Quistis instructed us to go to the Central Square. That was when I would talk to Seifer. On our way, we encountered Galbadian soldiers that we were instructed to eliminate. As I drew my gun blade on one of them, a thought crossed my mind, _What if I let this soldier live? What would happen differently in the world? Maybe he quits being a G-troop and becomes a doctor who saves lives, maybe he makes a huge difference to the world in a few years, or at least his children might do so._ But the fact was, he wasn't going to live, and he would never change the world. Seifer slashed the soldier across the chest, taking his life away without a second thought.

"What's the matter, Squall? Too scared to fight? Even chicken-wuss here is doing better than you!" Seifer mocked. "The Central Square is up ahead. Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there! Come out'n show your faces! Don't leave me hangin' now!

Zell made a comment about him and we made our way to the Central Square, cutting down any opposition that threatened us. I attempted to inflict only minor wounds upon them, but Seifer always had to finish them off. His face was filled with joy as he ended other human beings' lives; it was horrifying to watch. We arrived at the Central Square, defeated any opposing forces, then waited, as per our mission objectives.

"Well, we're on standby until the enemy comes" Seifer ordered. "Standby…how boring…"

While a dog annoyed Seifer, I thought about what I was going to say to him. I would have to make a good point if I were to convince him to stay here and not go to the communications tower. I didn't have much time to think as a small group of Galbadian soldiers walked past the Central Square, apparently not seeing us as we hid from them around the corner.

"It's the enemy…" Seifer whispered.

"Where the hell they goin'? Hey? What is that up there?" Zell pointed to the large communications tower that the soldiers were headed towards. 

"Our next destination." Seifer said with a grin.

"But that's against orders!" Zell exclaimed.

"I agree, I think we should stay here and await the call for evacuation like Xu said." I mentioned to Seifer.

"I don't care, I'm the captain here and I say we follow them. And you have to do what I tell you to do, so lets go." Seifer began to walk away from me, intending to follow the soldiers.

I think I must've panicked or simply got angry as I ran in front of Seifer and shouted, "Dammit Seifer!! If you go over there, you will be disobeying the mission parameters and you will not become a SeeD! Do you know how important it is that you stay here?! This is the deciding moment! You've always wanted to be a SeeD and I know it, but it won't happen if you keep following this path!! So I say we just stay here a little longer and wait for the order to dispatch."

Seifer became enraged and began shouting and pointing at me, "No, you listen here Squall!! I am the squad leader and you will do what I say, and I say that you shut up!! If you don't obey my orders, you know what will happen? You won't become a SeeD!! I'll make sure that you don't!! You got that?!"

It took everything I had in me not to hit Seifer then. If he only knew what I knew, if he would only think of the severe consequences of his actions right now, maybe he would consider listening to me. But he didn't know, and he didn't listen.

He drew closer to me, talking very quietly and intensely, "You look like you wanna hit me, Squall. What's the matter? Lost yer nerve since this morning? Or did I scratch away your confidence?" He slid his finger over the scar on my face to emphasize what he meant.

I would've started a fight if I weren't overcome with a startling revelation that nearly made me lose my balance. _It's my fault…I won the fight with him this morning, so now he's so angry with me that he won't listen to anything I have to say…which means that he will disobey orders and won't become a SeeD and the repercussions that occur will be severe. I'm the reason that Trabia will be destroyed and Balamb will be threatened. I am the cause of Selphie's despair to come. _ I considered physically stopping him from going, but that would mean that I disobeyed the captain's orders and that could jeapordize me becoming a SeeD.

It's amazing how one event, however insignificant it may seem, can affect the future in so many ways. That is one lesson I've learned.

My thoughts drifted to Rinoa. It had felt like so long ago that I had last seen her during the fight with Ultimecia. I knew that I would see her again, and soon, but I just wanted so much to be with her right now. She always had a way of cheering me up inside, and I needed her now more than ever. But the next time I see her, she won't recall ever meeting me at all. I was in love with someone that had never even met me. I had tried to lighten up this whole experience with delusions of being able to change the future, but the grim reality returned to me then.

I hoped and prayed that there was something I could do to prevent this, but I would have to follow Seifer to do so. As we continued up towards the facility, I saw the fallen Dollet soldier on the steps. We explained to him that we were dispatched by Garden to assist the Dollet troops. Then I remembered that he was going to attacked and killed by an Anacondaur right about now. I drew my blade, ran up the steps and skillfully defeated the creature in one blow before he could strike. After making sure the monster was indeed dead, I thought about what I had just done as I stared into the evening sky. This man would now live the rest of his life through and through; he may make difference to the world in the future. I had successfully prevented a disaster from ever happening. I knew it could be done.

I looked down at the frightened soldier and observed his awestruck face as he stared at the dead Anacondaur in disbelief. He finally spoke to me, "You saved my life. If you hadn't had killed that creature, I would not be breathing right now. Thank you good sir, thank you so much. How can ever repay you?"

I paused and thought about why I had saved this man. Sure, it was the right thing to do, but maybe I didn't save him for the future or for the sake of his life, but maybe instead I saved him just to prove that I could. "Live the rest of your life, that's all."

Seifer, Zell, and I continued towards the tower, Zell with his mouth completely agape cried out, "WHOA!! How the hell did you know that that Anacondaur was there!? There was no was you could've seen that, man! Lemme guess, pure instinct, right? I mean you just went WHOOSH!! SLICE!! DEAD!! Hahahahaha!!"

"Let's try to keep focus here, alright? I mean it wasn't anything I couldn't do ya know." Seifer retorted.

When we reached the top of the stone steps, we saw the entrance to the comm. tower and ducked under the guards' line of sight. We listened in to what the guards were saying and waited for them to exit into the tower. Seifer jumped down the from the small hill we were standing on and left Zell and I alone.

"Show off." Zell said under his breath.

"There you are!" Selphie shouted from behind us right before she clumsily fell down the small hill she was standing on. "Are you Squad B? I'm a mes…hey, you're that guy I saw earlier at Balamb garden. I hope you got to where you were going, being in such a hurry and all."

_It's good to see another one of my friends again._ I thought with a smile. The smile faded when I thought about how upset she will be when she finds her Trabia Garden destroyed. I had to stop that from happening, if not for her, then for all the victims who will die by that missile attack.

She introduced herself as a messenger and told us she needed to talk to Seifer. She jumped off the hill that Seifer had earlier descended. The reluctant Zell and I followed and I equipped my GFs appropriately for the next difficult battle. I recommended to Zell and Selphie how they should junction their magic, and they took my advice, assuming I was correct. We took the automatic lift to the top of the tower to meet Seifer.

The mammoth satellite activated and was set in motion when we reached the top, and as before, it was guarded by Biggs and Wedge, _Like I haven't fought them enough as it is_. Seifer was nowhere to be found, so Selphie, Zell and I fought them both, which was interrupted by the strong wind caused my the flying beast Elvoret. Unlike before, Elvoret was easy to defeat due to some carefully junctioned magic and GF's and fell rather quickly.

"Wow, that was rather easy, thanks to Squall's junctioning tips!" Selphie complimented.

I nodded and immediately began to look around, searching for the switch that would activate the deadly spider robot that would chase us all the way to the shore. _I hate that damn thing, but I can stop it from coming this time._ As I hunted for the mechanism, Seifer appeared and Selphie told him the order to evacuate to the shore. Seifer announced it to us and took the lift down by himself, leaving his team behind.

"C'mon Squall, there's no time, we have to get to the shore in thirty minutes! Let's get goin'!" Selphie exclaimed.

_I have no clue as to how that spider robot is activated, but there's gotta be something I can do to prevent it from coming…but I can't miss that transport._

Once again, I instructed Selphie and Zell how to junction their magic, and they did so, seeing as I didn't steer them wrong last time. When we all exited the tower, I stopped and warned, "Everyone, run as fast as you can, now!" 

"What's wrong? Are there monsters around?" Zell asked.

The mechanized robot loudly stomped overhead. "Go!! Now!!" I yelled.

The machine dropped to the ground with a loud clang and targeted us to die. I didn't have to tell them again to run as we all sprinted up the path, running as fast as we could. We were occasionally forced to subdue the beast with a combination of bolt magic and GF's. As we ran down the steps leading to the Central Square, I ran past the injured Dollet soldier, still unable to walk due to his wounds as he vainly attempted to crawl away. But it was too late. The relentless machine stomped on him without hesitation, ending his life immediately, and continuing to chase us down. I had no time to think about what had just happened. I just ran, a new dose of adrenaline pumping through my veins.

We reached the shore up ahead and I used the rest of my stamina to speed up and fight the handicap of the sand slowing me down. Zell and Selphie had at some point ran ahead of me and made it to the escape vessel. _Cue Quistis…_ I covered my ears to compensate for the deafening burst of bullets fired from the boat's gun, the multiple rounds slamming into the machine spider right behind me, ending its rampage. I jumped onto the boat and immediately sat down.

_Seifer couldn't be stopped, and he will threaten the president, and the president will destroy Trabia. I will have to watch Selphie cry again. The Dollet soldier died, even after I had saved him. All the soldiers that died last time around, are dead now. There was nothing I could do._


	5. Chapter 5

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 5

Seifer was snapped at by Xu and Headmaster Cid, being told that he would be disciplined for his irresponsible actions. I had failed in my personal mission to stop Seifer. When I saw Seifer's face after he had been yelled at, I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that they were wrong, and that he would show them that he was SeeD material. Before, it was almost funny to see someone like him with his head down, being told that he wouldn't make it in life, but this time, it wasn't funny, it was devious.

I waited outside the classroom, patiently waiting for the Garden Faculty to tell me that I was going to be a SeeD. Zell paced back and forth, so nervous, so unnecessarily worried. I would've talked to him, but I still couldn't get my mind off of that Dollet soldier. _I should've known that the Spider Robot would be coming down those steps. I should've moved him out of the way when I saved him from the Anacondaur. But I didn't, I failed him and myself..._

Selphie approached me, "What's wrong Squall? Nervous about the exam? You shouldn't be, you did great, you're a shoo-in."

"....."

"You're still thinking about that Dollet soldier, aren't you?"

I guess I was easy to read, plus Zell had told her the story on our way back to Garden. I responded after a long pause, "Yeah…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Listen, you did everything you could've done. Maybe he was just unlucky, ya know? I mean, he was attacked twice in like, ten minutes, that's saying something, doncha think?"

I thought about it for a second, then said, "Yeah, maybe you're right. Sorry to keep you worried."

"No problem!" Selphie responded cheerfully.

I admired Selphie for her ability to cope with any situation in such a delightful manner. It hurt me to realize how much heartbreak she would go through during our journey. She would work so hard on making the Garden Festival the best it could be, only to have it destroyed when we crash into Fisherman's Horizon. Her birthplace would be obliterated by missiles, many of her friends would die. Yet, she would still remain optimistic. I didn't want to see her suffer. _I will prevent the attack, I promise._

Maybe she was right about the Dollet soldier having bad luck or whatever. _Fortune doesn't smile on everyone, that's for sure. Take me, for example, or poor Selphie. Hmm, but I don't think it's bad luck that he had, I'd call it…_

"Dincht! Zell Dincht!" The Garden Faculty interrupted me in thought.

Zell exclaimed his enthusiasm and pride as he gleefully pranced out of the hallway and into the Headmaster's room. My name was called, Seifer's was not. He would not be a SeeD, just as Xu said.

I listened as Headmaster Cid spoke to the four of us, Selphie, Zell, Nida, and I about what our duties as SeeD members were. He told us that we were mercenaries operated for the Garden, combat specialists in his words. What he did not tell us was that SeeD's purpose was to fight sorceress's, that we were going to be assigned the task of murdering his wife, Edea.

After all words were said, I took the elevator with the other recruits to the second floor, where all the unqualified students clapped for us. _It's funny, I had saved the world from time compression but a day ago and received no thanks at all, but for simply becoming a SeeD, I am applauded._

I walked to my dorm to change into my SeeD uniform for the 'first time'. As I dressed, I thought about the inauguration dance I was about to attend. _I will finally be able to see Rinoa again. I've so missed her gorgeous face, her remarkable attitude, her lovely voice… God, I've been through so much since I last saw her, but now things will finally pick up. Of course, to her, this will be our first time ever meeting. She won't recall me rescuing her from space, the time I shared my feelings with her aboard the Ragnarok, or the time I saved her from the sorceress memorial. Because none of that has happened yet._. I got dressed and headed to the SeeD Inauguration Dance.

When I arrived, I got butterflies in my stomach, my mouth was dry, and my palms became sweaty. I got a drink and thought, _What's wrong with me? Why am I so nervous? Well, it could be that I'm worried about messing up my chances with Rinoa. This is very important, after all. Not too many people get a chance to redo a night that could have been so much better._ To calm down, I found Zell and made conversation with him. He seemed to be having a good time, and his attitude had rubbed off on me a bit, putting me at necessary ease. Selphie approached me with an offer to join the Garden Festival Committee, which I considered but declined. I would have joined, but I knew that I wouldn't have time.

Across the room, mine and Rinoa's eyes met. Immediately, my heart sang as she pointed up towards the night sky and smiled. I couldn't help but smiling as well, and I might've even broke down if I hadn't had more control than I did. 

When she approached me, she complimented, "You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me? Let me guess... You'll only dance with someone you like. Ok then... Look into my eyes... You're- going-to-like-me... You're-going-to-like-me... Did it work?"

She did not have to hypnotize me to get me to like her, I was already in love. "It worked, shall we?"

I was surprisingly relaxed as we held hands and began dancing. We danced in perfect rhythm this time, not missing a step or a beat, avoiding running into any other dancing couples, adding a little improvisation as well. It was such a wonderful feeling, letting all your worries, problems, and time inconsistencies disappear as you danced away with the person you loved. _ Maybe tonight, I can take her to the training center and watch the beautiful night sky as we talk. Even though today has been such a terrible ordeal, it will end well, it will…_

After the song ended, we stopped dancing and she spied her friends from across the room. She said goodbye and walked away, leaving me to drown in agony, once again. I slowly staggered over to the balcony and watched the stars, thinking about nothing else except my own misery. It was a terrible thought to imagine someone you love so dearly not remembering your most precious moments together. _I thought things could be different this time, something better, but instead, i've come out more miserable than i was before._

Quistis came up behind me, dressed in her usual outfit, as she had not attended the ball. "You're awfully down for someone who just a minute ago looked so happy dancing with someone very pretty. Did she hurt you? If so, I'm sorry, I know how it feels when someone you like doesn't have feelings for you…"

I realized that she was talking about me. I had forgotten about Quistis' feelings for me. Later, she would find out that those feelings were not romantic, but instead friendly feelings for her old childhood friend.

"...Oh, I completely forgot. I wonder what's to become of me? I've come to give you an order. You and I are to go to the 'secret area'. It's where students secretly meet up and talk after curfew. It's inside the training center." Quistis ordered.

I would've preferred to just sit in my room and think about things, I was very tired too, once I thought about it. Something inside me told me, however, to go with Quistis to the training center. "Alright, I'll go get changed and meet you there."

After taking a moment to gaze at the stars, I walked out of the ballroom without looking back. I changed out of my SeeD uniform and into my regualar clothes, grabbing my gun blade on my way out. When I reached the training center, me and Quistis headed to the secret area which was the furthest point from the entrance. We encountered a few monsters, generally easy to defeat, and made it to the secret area. Quistis spoke to me as we viewed the lighted Balamb Garden, informing me of her resignation as an instructor and her decision to be a full time SeeD.

"You're making the right decision. You'll make a great SeeD." I replied.

"They told me that I failed as an instructor. Basically, that I lacked leadership qualities. I was a SeeD by the age of 15, got my instructor license at 17... It's only been a year since I got it... I wonder where I went wrong... I did my best... "

"You're a fine instructor, but I just think that you'll be more happy as a SeeD."

"Thank you Squall, I appreciate that... You've changed, you know. I kinda expected you not to say much at all tonight, but you're being so supportive. What happened to you?"

I paused and realized how much I had changed during my quest. It was because of Rinoa that I opened up, started trusting people, and let go of the past. "I guess I realized that just because one person let you down doesn't mean that you should stop trusting everyone…"

We exited the secret area and started walking towards the entrance when…"Somebody help!" A disembodied voice cried out.

It was Ellone. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten all about this moment. I blamed it on the GF's and how junctioning them can make you forget things. _Now is my chance to talk to her. She may know what's going on with my situation._

Quistis and I hurried towards the entrance where we found Ellone being attacked by the flying beast, Granaldo. "Squall!! Squall!! Quisty?" Ellone called to us.

We fought the demon, and with adrenaline rushing through me, Quistis and I fell the creature quickly. I ran over to Ellone, completely speechless, despite the fact that I had so much to say. She was hurt, but not critically. Before I could say anything, a couple of White SeeDs hurried to her aid, pushing me away from her.

"Sir, stay back." The pusher ordered.

"It is not safe here. Please, let's go." The other White SeeD told Ellone.

"Alright." Ellone responded.

"No! Wait, please, I need to talk to you, Ellone!! Wait!" I shouted at her.

"No sir, I cannot permit you to come any closer." The SeeD demanded as he barred my path.

A lesser person would have used force to get to her, but I remained docile, simply trying to get by the White SeeD blocking my way. "NO! I beg of you! Please, let me come with you sis!! Please, GOD DON'T DO THIS!!"

Ellone stopped and turned around to look at me. She stared at me, observing the sincerity in my eyes, the trembling in my hands. "Let him come with us, don't worry, I know him."

A great weight lifted off my shoulders as I knew that some of my questions would soon be answered. Quistis stood where she was, then shouted before I could leave, "Wait, where are you going Squall? Who is that?"

"Don't worry Quistis, I'll be fine. I'm sorry, but I have to follow her." I spoke loudly as I walked away, leaving her alond and in complete confusion.

I followed Ellone and the SeeDs out of Balamb Garden and towards the sea, where the familiar White SeeD ship was docked. Once we were all aboard, the ship sailed immediately into the night. _There's nothing left for me back at Balamb Garden, as long as I get to talk to Ellone, I'll be fine._ As the bright lights of Garden faded into the distance, I wondered if I would ever see it again.


	6. Chapter 6

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

-----------------------------

Chapter 6

I was in the plains outside of Balamb Garden. I found myself walking towards the Garden, about a mile away. Something was amiss, however, there was no sound. I couldn't hear the wind or my footsteps on the grass. I tried to speak, I could feel my throat speaking the words, but no sound came out of my mouth. I continued to walk towards Garden, I don't know why, I guess I felt compelled to go there. I don't remember walking, but I got close to the Garden and saw Rinoa in her gorgeous white dress that she wore at the ball, high above, where the quad was located. She had her hands out, asking for me to go to her. I heard her, her voice the only sound I could hear, Rinoa calling out to me, "Give me a hug! A real tight one!!" I wanted so much to do so, so I sprinted towards the entrance, but I was stopped. I ran into some sort of wall, not able to be seen. The moment I touched whatever it was, the 'wall' began to bend and warp, everything behind it, stretching and distorting with the wall. The 'wall' was solid, I could not get past it. I looked up, and could not see the top of it, I looked to both sides, there was no end. Then, behind the 'wall', Galbadian forces attacked the Garden. Rinoa screamed, running around, getting too close to the edge of the balcony. I knew that she was going to slip and nearly fall to her death, I had to stop it before it happened. I silently shouted, "Rinoa!" and drew my gun blade and struck the 'wall'. It scarred, only to fix itself immediately. I attacked repeatedly, using everything I had to try and get past. Magic, GFs, limit breaks, they all scratched the wall, only for it to recover right away, no matter how much I tried, the wall would not change. It was impossible to get past it. Rinoa fell, I could not help her, I couldn't change anything.

-----------------------------

"Okay, tell me what happened." Cid asked me.

"After the SeeD inauguration dance, Squall and I agreed to meet in the training center after hours. Then…"

I began to say.

"Wait, whoa, what were you doing in the training center after curfew?"

I nervously rubbed my arm up and down, then responded, "Listen, this isn't about me and him, this is about where Squall is. May I continue please?" Cid nodded and I continued, "Anyways, as we left the training center, we found a woman being attacked by a Granaldo. Squall and I came to her aid and defeated the monster. Afterwards, a couple of White SeeDs appeared and told her that it wasn't safe there and they began to walk away. That's when Squall shouted to the woman, saying something about how he needed to talk to her. He sounded very sincere and desperate. The woman turned around and said that Squall could come with them. I shouted at Squall before he left, asking where he was going and who was the woman, and he said…"

"Think about it, repeat his exact words if can." Cid said slowly.

"He said, 'Don't worry Quistis, I'll be fine. I'm sorry, but I have to go with her.' And that's all. They left me there and walked away."

Cid stood up from his desk and paced back and forth, thinking. "Alright, so what did this woman look like?"

"Short chestnut brown hair, about yay high, slim facial features."

"You didn't happen to get her name, did you?"

"Actually…when Squall shouted to her, he called her…Ell…Le…Ello…"

"Could it have been…Ellone?" Cid questioned.

"Yes, that's it, and Squall also called her 'sis' for some reason. Oh, and now that you mention it, she did recognize Squall when we found her and she called me 'Quisty', like we knew each other, but I've never seen her before in my life."

Cid stared out his window, probably considering the new information I had just told him. "Okay, if Squall is with Ellone, then he's going to be very hard to find. Ellone keeps herself well-hidden, you see. I doubt that they're still inside the Garden, so they've probably left the continent already." Cid sat down and looked at me. "Since Squall is missing, we're going to need someone else to take his place for this next assignment. The assignment requires four people, and we would prefer them all to be SeeDs. Due to you resigning as an instructor and becoming a SeeD, you will accompany Zell, Selphie, and a fourth party member. That party member will be…" Cid looked to his side and closed his eyes, "…Seifer."

--------------------------

When morning came, I awoke, not realizing when I had fallen asleep the previous night. All I could think about while I sat up was the nightmare I had just dreamed up. The symbolism was obvious enough, I just didn't want to accept what it was telling me.

I got up, stretched, and looked around. I was inside the White SeeD ship cabin, everyone else gone to do tasks bright and early, except for Ellone, who was resting. I had slept too long, but then again, I had been awake for over twenty-four hours yesterday, with fights and SeeD missions in between. I opened the cabin door to the outside, which is when I realized that what happened yesterday had actually happened. I was kind of hoping that the whole thing had been some very intense dream, but everything was in its right place, as it had been when I went to sleep.

I sat and watched the rolling waves as I waited for Ellone to wake up. We hadn't had a chance to talk the night before, as her wounds needed attention and I needed sleep. I mainly thought about the future, the possible future, and the future I could've had. I still did not understand why this was happening to me. How could I have such bad fortune as to experience this, I wondered. Ellone stepped out of the cabin and had a few words with her friends. She spied me at the front of the boat, at which point I walked over to her and she said, "Come Squall, let's talk inside."

I told her everything starting from the battle with Ultimecia to the chat I was having with her right then. I had been dying to tell someone about it, and it was good to finally share the bizarre experience with someone. I mainly did the talking, but every so often she would ask a quick question or make a comment. When I finished the story, neither of us spoke for some time. I supposed it was a lot to take in, so I waited patiently for her to give me her opinion.

"So you're telling me this because you think that I can help you, right?" Ellone finally said.

"Yes, I know about your ability to transfer one's consciousness in the present into someone else's body in the past. I figured this situation sounded close enough to that power that you may know something."

"Hmm…you must be telling the truth if you know about my ability. There's no way you could know otherwise. I suppose you found this out on your travels, right?"

"Yes, you tell me quite some time from now, quite far from here." I was afraid to ask her if she knew something about my situation in fear that she would say no. She was my only hope of returning to my own time and I didn't think I could handle the truth.

She looked to the side, as if she was afraid to tell me something. She finally spoke to me the words I did not want to hear, "I can't help you. I don't have anything to do with your predicament. I'm so sorry, Squall."

I had figured that was the truth, so I should've been prepared for it, but what she said sent me into a deep hole of despair. I closed my eyes and hoped that when I opened them, I'd be somewhere else, but I wasn't. I didn't speak, there was nothing else for me to say.

"I'll be here for you though, okay? You can stay on this boat with us for as long as you want, alright?" She attempted to comfort me with words, but I could not be consoled.

"Thank you…I just need to be left alone for awhile…" I said in shaky breaths.

--------------------------------

I couldn't believe what he had just told me. Seifer would join up with me for an assignment, someone so arrogant as Seifer, an irresponsible egomaniac to fight alongside with me.

"Seifer? You can't be serious, headmaster!" I stood up from my chair and pleaded, "He's not even a SeeD! There must be some other option. You know what Seifer will do, he'll rebel and go his own way, he won't listen to orders, he will put himself and others in danger! Why him?"

"…Listen, I would have much preferred for Squall to go instead, but Seifer is our only option. Nida, the SeeD that graduated yesterday, is already on an assignment at the moment. Plus, a gun blade specialist will do well in this assignment. I'm sorry, Miss Trepe, but he's going with you. You will, of course, be the leader of this operation and will have official control over everything that happens."

I had read the specs of the assignment assigned to us and it did not seem necessary to have a gun blade specialist with us. I couldn't imagine what Cid meant by that. The mission was to assist a small group called the Timber Owls in an operation over at Timber. Three SeeDs should be plenty for such an assignment. Cid seemed awfully nervous as well, he was bad at hiding things. I would've brought it up to the headmaster, but I knew that he would stick with his decision anyways.

"…Yes sir, I will try to cooperate with Seifer and complete the assignment to the best of my abilities." I walked out of Cid's office thinking about what terrible disaster would befall Zell, Selphie, and I with Seifer in our party.

-----------------------------------

As the day passed, I thought about what I would do. I realized that I should be on the Timber operation at the moment, but I was here. What consequences would this have on the future that I had known, I wondered. This event could dramatically change what will happen to me. But then again, I hadn't been able to change anything else up to that point. Ellone occasionally spoke to me, trying to get an idea of my situation and about the future, what I knew about upcoming disasters and such. I told her exactly what would happen, and that no matter how much I could try, the catastrophes would happen.

"Listen Squall, you might not have been able to save that poor Dollet soldier or change what happened with you and Rinoa, but that doesn't mean that the future cannot be changed. Look around you, were you here last time? No, you have changed what has happened to you…Look, I'm not forcing you to do anything, but you have something that nobody else has, the knowledge of things to come. You can use this knowledge to prevent bad things, I'm sure of it."

_She's right. Here I am, right now, changing things. By being here and not on that Timber mission, maybe someone else takes my place. Maybe I don't become the leader of Balamb Garden later on. If that could happen, then I need to at least try and prevent the missile attack. Maybe I can get to Timber before Seifer does and stop him._

"You're right, Ellone. Listen, where are we right now? The ship, I mean."

Ellone took a trained eye to her surroundings then said, "The Northwest. Why?"

"Great, is there any way you can get me as close to Timber as possible?"

"Sure, I'll tell the captain right away." She walked away and did as she had promised.

_Don't you worry, Selphie, things will work out for you this time. Rinoa, we'll be together soon enough, and I won't be such a fool this time. And Seifer, look out, here I come._


	7. Chapter 7

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 7

"Squall…can I ask a favor of you?" Ellone asked nervously.

"You want to know what happened on Laguna's travels and you want to use my consciousness, along with Selphie and Zell's to find out, right?" I responded. I had thought about what would happen with the whole Laguna thing. I understood why Ellone used us like she did, and she deserved to know what happened.

"…right, I suppose I did this 'last time', right?" Ellone formulated.

"Yes, and I would be more than happy to help you, but I don't think it's necessary. I could just tell you the entire story. I, and I'm sure Selphie and Zell, would prefer not to go through the whole process if possible. Unless you don't believe me, that is."

"I trust you, and I would hate to have to put you through something that you wouldn't want to do. Please, tell me what happened to Laguna, tell me everything you know."

"It's a long story, but I suppose it will be awhile before we reach Timber anyways, right?"

I told her everything that she wanted to know. I omitted no details, I told her of every single battle that Laguna, Kiros, and Ward went through. I told her about his adventures as a Galbadian soldier, the time he met Julia, his brief stint as an actor, the time he spent in Winhill, when he worked for Dr. Odine, all the way up to the point where he rescued Ellone. Ellone would ask questions every so often, I would answer them, and not once did she doubt my story. When the story was over, she cried. I put my arm around her and she wept on my shoulder.

Ellone had meant that world to me once. When I was a child, I loved her so much, she cared for me, she was my friend, my sis. When she left, I didn't take it very well. The one memory that would remain with me forever was me at the orphanage telling myself that I would be fine by myself, without sis, and I would always remember it, no matter how many GF's I could junction. It was odd; she had meant the world to me once, then she left me, turning me into the cold, self-centered person I used to be, and now she was crying on my shoulder. Funny how things worked out…

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I fidgeted impatiently in bed, waiting for the SeeDs to arrive so that we could get started on the operation. _Finally, Timber will get it's independence, after all this time! These SeeDs will guarantee our success! After all, the contract says that they are to stay with us, the Forest Owls, until Timber gets its independence. So it must work!…Hmm, I wonder if Seifer…_ Coincidently, the door to my room opened and Seifer stepped into my life again.

"Rinoa…it's been a long time…"

"Seifer…" I managed to spit out. I had kinda figured that he would be the one to come and help us. Maybe I was even kinda hoping that he would come…

Seifer walked over and sat on the bed next to me. "Well, you still look as beautiful as you did the last time I saw you. How you been doing?"

I couldn't help but blush at his compliment, and I tried to hide it by turning away, talking quietly and nervously as if I was some kind of school girl talking to her crush, "I'm fine…so you're a SeeD now, huh?"

Seifer sighed and looked a bit angry, "…technically no, but I might as well be. They chose me for a SeeD assignment, after all. Also, I am the leader of this operation, you know."

A blonde woman dressed in a shade of red stepped into the room and commanded Seifer, "Are you quite done? Come with me, we need to formulate a plan of action." The woman stood impatiently in the doorway, waiting for Seifer and I.

"Yes, ex-instructor. Looks like we'll have to finish our catching up later." Seifer said to me as he stood up and exited the room.

I didn't know what to think. Our relationship before had ended when he decided that he wanted to be a SeeD and moved to Balamb Garden. He was a sweet guy and was very charming, but he had this dark side to him that I found…scary. The way he fought was awfully…dirty, and he would show no mercy in certain situations. He also had this anger problem every so often. Yet, I was still attracted to him. I didn't know what I wanted, but I would be working with him, so I would try to maintain a professional business-like relationship and nothing more. I just hoped I could do that.

--------------------------

When she dropped me off at the closest point to Timber that the ship allowed, Ellone told me that she would be going back to Balamb Garden soon. I would've told her to be careful in case I failed to stop the missile threat, but I already knew that she would be fine. A few hours later, I arrived in Timber. I knew that security was pretty tight and that I would have to sneak around the town being careful not to get spotted. I didn't know if I could handle several guards alone. Luckily, I got through unspotted. I would have to find my way into the Timber radio station the same way that Seifer had if I were to catch him.

It took some time, but I found a way to get in without attracting any of the guards. It was risky, but I had to climb up one building to another to another that led to a window at the radio station. I was high above ground, so I was able to see the Forest Owl's train when it approached. _Okay, they're here, that must mean that the speech will begin soon, which means Seifer can't be too far. I'll just hide here backstage and wait for him._

--------------------------

"The president's in the studios now, sir. Too many guards now, so we won't be able to storm the place, sir!" Watts informed me before he took off.

"Oh please, too many guards? Hah, I think that the four of us can take em' on. I mean, we took out how many on the way here? Dozens, I'm sure."

"All due to your irresponsible behavior, Seifer! We could have avoided many of those battles if you hadn't been here. Anyways, our client Rinoa will inform us as to what we should do." Quistis griped.

"Umm, well, maybe we should go figure out a new plan before we do anything else." Rinoa suggested.

"Oh c'mon Rin, you know what we should do! Let's just bust in there and play it by ear. That way, the president won't be able to broadcast his message," I advised.

"But what if it's a message of peace?!" Selphie annoyingly commented.

"Sorry Seifer, but what kind of message would we be giving if we killed a bunch of guards and attacked the president? The Forest Owls would like to avoid violence whenever possible. So let's go back to our hideout and figure things out." Rinoa ordered.

Even though I would've like to be nice to Rinoa if we were to hook up later, she was beginning to make me angry and annoyed. _I obviously have the right idea with my plan of action, but we have to do what she says. Well, I'll just have to go behind her back. My mission is to give Timber its independence, and that's what I will achieve._

I trailed behind the rest of them as they walked down the stairs to the hideout, at which point I silently snuck away and headed towards the radio station. I would complete the mission in any way possible.

--------------------------

When the president began to speak, I got up and quietly looked around for Seifer. _He should be here by now, what gives?_ I heard a noise to the right of me as Seifer emerged from a window on the side of the building. He was late, but he was here.

"Squall?!" Seifer exclaimed in a low tone as to keep from being heard by guards.

"I can't let you attack the president, Seifer." I commanded. I was closer to the entrance to the stage that the president was on, which barred Seifer's path.

"What the…how did you know what I was gonna do?? Doesn't matter, get out of my way! I've got a mission to do!" Seifer pulled out his gun blade and lunged at me.

I already had my gun blade out, so I was able to parry the assault and counter with my own. As before, I had the upper hand in that I knew Seifer's moves rather well, but this was an enclosed space and I was restricted in my movement. Seifer grew impatient as he often did and stepped back to cast a spell. I was too far away to tackle him and his spell hit. It was a Slow spell! My speed immediately decreased four-fold, only to be hit immediately by a Fire spell. _How did Seifer learn Double? And slow?_ I was thrown to the floor, and with my current status, I could not get up fast enough to stop Seifer from getting away.

All I could do was use all the strength in my body to try and get to the stage where I might be able to stop Zell from saying we're from Balamb. I heard the commotion on the stage, Seifer's voice telling the guards to stay back, then the sound of footsteps entering the stage area. _Dammit, there's nothing I can do._

--------------------------

"Now Seifer, calm down, what are you doing?" Quistis spoke to Seifer in a calm manner.

"I'm doing what should be done! Rinoa, isn't this what you want? By kidnapping this fool, we have power over the Galbadians and can make demands, such as freeing Timber!" Seifer retorted.

"No, this is not the way to achieve it, okay? This isn't going to work! Let him go, Seifer! As your client, I order you to let the president go!!" Rinoa shouted to Seifer.

It was then that I made a very terrible mistake. I should've just kept my mouth shut, but I didn't. "Yeah Seifer, wait until Headmaster Cid hears about this, you'll be expelled from Garden for sure!"

"I see... So you're all from Garden. Should anything happen to me, the entire Galbadian military will undoubtedly crush Garden. You can let go of me now." President Deling remarked.

"Nice going chicken-wuss! You and your stupid big mouth! Take care of this, ex-instructor!"

I had screwed things up bad. Galbadia would attack Balamb Garden and it'd all be my fault… If I had the power to go back through time, I would go back to this point and prevent myself from saying what I did that day, that's for sure.

--------------------------

Zell's exclamation marked the failure of my attempt to stop the missile strike. _Damn you, Seifer._ The slow spell still had not worn off, and I was too late to prevent anything, but I still stepped as fast as I could towards Seifer as he backed into the backstage area with his gun blade at Deling's throat. I watched as Edea appeared from a wall behind Seifer and talked to him, seducing him into coming with her. Seifer, like the lost boy he was, followed the sorceress and let go of the president, who immediately ran past me and out the door.

I smacked the blunt end of my gun blade on a nearby wall as hard as I could to let everyone know that I was there. They all quickly turned to me and sighed in relief when they realized that I wasn't a Galbadian solider.

"Squall? What are you doing here? And why are you…oh I see, you're slowed. Hold on." Quistis told me as she cast an esuna on me, relieving me of my handicap.

"Listen, there will be time for explanations later. We need to get out of here before backup arrives." I instructed.

All the G-troops were busy looking after the president, so our escape was fairly easy to make. We reached the generous Timber citizen's house, our hideout, to wait until the heat died down and where we could make plans as what to do next.

  
"So what's your story?" Quistis asked me.

"Hey, I'm sorry for leaving you like that the other night, I really am. I just had to find out some answers."

"Well I hope it was worth it because you had a SeeD mission to do today. Because of your absence, Seifer and I had to join Zell and Selphie and I in this assignment to assist the Forest Owls."

"Whoa, wait, Seifer was on your team?! He…he's not even a SeeD! Why did h…" I realized that I was shouting, so I lowered my voice, "Why did he come along? Why not some other SeeD?"

"Cid said that the mission called for a gun blade specialist, and he was the only one available. Although, I still do not understand why we needed a gun blade specialist for this mission."

I thought about the same thing, then realized that Cid had an ulterior motive for us on this assignment. Once we were to arrive at Galbadia Garden, we would receive instructions to assassinate sorceress Edea. That is why a gun blade specialist was needed. _That's why Seifer had those Slow and Double spells, because on the way here last time, I learned the same spells. He must've gotten them from the same enemies I faced before._

"Listen, the point is that I'm here now and we need to figure out a plan." I changed the subject.

I needed to think of a plan for myself. Now that I had missed the opportunity to prevent the strike from ever being ordered, I would have to find some other way to stop it. Until I figured it out, I would stay here with everyone.

While I thought about the next course of action, Rinoa and Selphie had a private chat in the corner. Zell approached me and said, "Psshh, women. Always gossiping, always having little girl-to-girl chats. Am I right? Talking about guys, no doubt," Zell then mocked in a girlish voice, "Who do you like? Oh yeah, he's so fresh! No, but have you seen him? Ooh, he's so hot! I agree, Zell is so awesome!"

I couldn't help but laugh at Zell's rather good impression. Selphie overheard us and exclaimed, "Hey! We're trying to have a conversation over here! Butt out!"

Zell got up and walked around, obviously embarrassed that they had heard him. I stared at Rinoa as she talked, mesmerized by her beautiful face. I couldn't help but notice that she mouthed the name 'Seifer' quite a few times, meaning that she was talking about him, as Zell had thought. When they were done talking, I felt that it was time to formally introduce myself to Rinoa, after all, we hadn't actually met just yet.

I didn't say much to her, as Rinoa was always the one to make conversations. I tried the best I could to keep the conversation going, but she seemed preoccupied, like her mind was elsewhere. I figured that it would take time for us to warm up to each other, so I went back to thinking up a plan to save Trabia.


	8. Chapter 8

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

-----------------------------

Chapter 8

After waiting awhile for the Galbadian forces to retreat, the leader of the Forest Owls informed us, "The Galbadian forces are withdrawing. Only the soldiers normally stationed here will stick around. If you're gonna leave town, now's your chance! You know how persistent those soldiers can be!"

"Squall, any thoughts on where to go?" Quistis asked.

"First, we need to get out of Timber. Let's take the next train to the East Academy station, which isn't too far from Galbadia Garden, our destination as instructed by Article 8, line 7." I stated.

"…Wow, nicely said, Squall." Quistis said with surprise.

"Let's get going."

As we sneaked to the train station in Timber, we were stopped by Zone in disguise, there to give us his tickets. After receiving the tickets and thanking him, Rinoa, Quistis, Selphie, Zell and I caught the train just in time.

_If I'm going to prevent that launch, I'm going to have to invade the missile silo. God, I have no idea as to how I'm supposed to go about doing that, but it must be done. Instead of going with my team to Deling City, I will travel to the missile base and stop the launch. At this point, that's my only option._ As the train rode along on the path that was set before it, I remained silent, carefully mapping out my ideas on how to stop a missile strike.

After we exited the locomotive, we made our way past the plains and into a small forested area between the mountains. Everyone stopped when Selphie spoke to us her concern, "Hey, I was just thinking... There might be some bad news from the Galbadian government. What if we get caught and then get broadcast to the whole world...!?"

Zell responded, "Whatever happens, happens! Now come on! Let's just keep going! I, I'm worried about Balamb Garden. If anything happens to Garden, it's all my fault. I'm the one who said we were all from Garden…" he turned to me, "You think the president will retaliate on Garden?"

I wanted to say yes, that a retaliation was imminent and that it was partially Zell's fault. I knew, however, that Zell was very upset about what he had done and that confirming his suspicions would only increase his guilt. I tried to be supportive to my friend, "It's not your fault, Zell. Seifer is the one who attacked the president. Blaming yourself will get you nowhere, so just let it go, alright? There won't be a launch, no Gardens will be destroyed, and everything will be fine." I don't think I was just consoling Zell with those words, I was also comforting myself.

Rinoa gave me a sweet smile of admiration after observing my soothing behavior. When I looked at her though, she immediately looked away. I knew that it would take some time for us to get as comfortable with each other the way I remember last, and that it would come little by little, so I had to be patient.

In under an hour, we were near Galbadia Garden. This is where I was to leave the rest of the group and head to the military base. I didn't want to stay at Galbadia long or else I might be signed up to do the assassination mission, which I couldn't be a part of. I knew it would be hard to tell the group about what I was doing and where I was going, but I tried the best I could.

I stopped before the entrance, which made Quistis stop and ask, "What's wrong?"

I looked at her and then everyone else, who had now stopped and was now looking at me and I said, "Listen everyone, this is where I leave you. You all have a mission to do and so do I, but my mission lies elsewhere. But don't worry, we'll see each other again."

Quistis asked confusedly, "What are you talking about? What mission are you going on? What mission are we going on?"

"You'll find out, but just let me tell you these few things, and listen very carefully." I walked over to Quistis. I didn't want them to have to make a trip out to The Tomb Of The Unknown King for no reason, so I told them the ID number that they needed to know. "Remember the number 187, okay? ID number 187. Write it down so you don't forget. You'll know what it's about when the time comes."

I walked over to Rinoa, put my hands on her shoulders and stared at her while I spoke, "Rinoa, do not attempt to subdue the sorceress by yourself, okay? You cannot do it, and your life will be in danger because of your actions. Don't try to be a hero, and be careful."

I walked away from the group, trying not to look back at Rinoa and change my mind. "Everyone, I'll see you later, and don't worry about the Gardens, nothing will happen to them, I'll make sure of that! Oh, and say hi to Irvine for me!" And with that, I left them in total perplexity as I headed to my possible doom.

--------------------------

We all stood there in silence, all of us with faces frozen in confusion, not knowing what Squall was talking about. We were all too bewildered to try and run after him, so we simply let him disappear from our sights. Our silence was interrupted by Zell, "What the hell was that?"

Selphie answered back, "I have no idea. He did seem to be lost in thought since the train ride, didn't he? But still, I don't get it. What's he doing?"

"I do wonder where he's going." Quistis questioned.

"I hope he'll be alright. Do you think he's going to be alright?" I asked the group.

"He's quite strong, I'm sure he'll be fine, but I wonder what he meant by that ID number thing. I better write it down like he said, just in case." Quistis stated, while jotting down the information. "Anyways, we should continue on. I've been here several times and I know the headmaster pretty well. I'll go and explain our situation. Everyone meet me upstairs in a few minutes."

I was worried about Seifer. That was all I could think about since he had attacked the president. I knew that Vinzer Deling and Sorceress Edea were in cahoots, and I saw Seifer leave with Edea. I had a bad feeling about it, I feared for Seifer's life. I headed into Galbadia Garden and up the stairs with the Selphie and Zell.

When we arrived in the meeting room, I took Selphie aside and told her about how I felt. Even though I hadn't known Selphie for very long, I warmed up to her quickly and we became good friends. She would always listen to what I had to say, even though I knew I must've bored her with my constant talk about my feelings for Seifer.

"Don't worry Rinoa, he's gonna be alright. If Edea was going to kill, oh I'm sorry, I mean umm, hurt Seifer, she would've done it when we saw her, right?"

I still didn't believe Selphie until Quistis walked in and said, "They understand our situation. And Balamb Garden is safe. The attack on the president in Timber was classified as an independent action. There was an official notice from the Galbadian government saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible."

I was torn between my relieved feelings about Balamb Garden and my worsening fears towards Seifer's life. I wasn't going to ask in fear that saying it would somehow jinx it and kill Seifer, but Zell had to ask, "So, Seifer's taking all the blame?"

Quistis had known about my feelings for Seifer, so she looked at me and paused, a look of sorrow so apparent in her face that she didn't have to tell me, "The trial's over, and the sentence has been carried out…"

My world came crashing down. So suddenly, the man that I thought I loved was dead. When Seifer had come to help the Forest Owls, I had thought that we could try and get back together; I had missed him while he had been gone at Balamb Garden, but he came back into my life, only to die for us. Despair forced me to my knees as I cried out in misery.

Selphie immediately came to my side and hugged me, assuring me that everything would be fine. "There there, let it out, I'm sorry, honey, I'm so sorry."

"He didn't do anything wrong! He..he just wanted to help liberate Timber. He sacrificed himself for Timber's freedom, and he's killed for that?! It's not fair…" I said between sobs.

--------------------

I figured that me and Rinoa were off to a good start. Last time, we had gotten in a few arguments and she viewed me as insensitive and cold, but now she thinks I'm a good friend to Zell and a good leader. While everyone around me died and I failed to affect the future for the greater good, the promise of a better relationship with Rinoa served as a ray of hope and a reason to continue on.

Walking away from Galbadia was one of the more difficult things I had to do that day, not knowing how my decision to leave them could affect future events. Perhaps I would die during the storming of the missile base, or maybe without me on their team, my friends would die. It was a terrible thing to imagine, but that was all I could think about as I walked away, abandoning the people I cared for the most.

--------------------

Everyone had left me alone in that room, figuring that I needed some time to myself to think things through. I thought about how I felt towards Seifer, my true feelings for him. I wasn't entirely sure that it was love…which probably meant that it wasn't love at all. I guess I just felt that an injustice was done and that he didn't deserve to be dead. As I began to think about his execution, my heart filled with anger and hatred. I wanted to get Deling and Edea for what they had done. I wiped away my tears and stood up. They would not get away with it, that was for sure.

I stormed out of the room and I was confronted by Selphie, Zell, and Quistis who had been waiting for me just outside. "Let's go. I'm done crying, I want Deling to pay."

Before any of them could say anything, I trudged down the stairs and headed to the front gate. Selphie came running after me and shouted at me to stop. "Listen, I know you're angry, as you should be. But the Garden Headmaster has informed us that we have a mission to do. So please, just wait for us to receive our orders and then we'll decide what to do, okay?"

I reluctantly agreed and impatiently waited for the headmaster to arrive. Martine, the headmaster, finally got there and gave us our orders. I pretended I was a SeeD as to avoid confusion, and I listened in to what the mission involved. When he said that Deling City was where the assignment would take place, my eyes widened at the chance to get to Vinzer Deling. _Stuck up jerk, he named a city after himself. How selfish do you have to be to do that?_

"Kinneas! Irvine Kinneas!" Martine yelled to someone lying on the grass.

_Irvine, where have I heard that name before…?_ Quistis answered my thoughts, "Irvine, hmm…didn't Squall mention him when he left? Maybe they know each other."

The long-haired cowboy introduced himself, we all saluted Martine, and we all headed off to the train station which would lead us to Deling City. I couldn't wait to meet Mr. President.


	9. Chapter 9

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

-----------------------------

Chapter 9

_First, steal an enemy uniform and an entrance card key, then waltz into the base and make my way to the command center. Then find the key for the computer console, then access the missile statistics menu and throw the launch into disarray. Afterwards, attempt to locate the self-destruct switch and blow the place sky high while I make my escape._

The plan seemed feasible, but surely not easy. Selphie had once told me the story about the time she destroyed the missile base, and had told me everything that I could want to know. I hadn't actually ever been to the place, but with Selphie's description, I basically knew the layout. Since it would take me some time to get there, I had plenty of time to run down the plan and work out any kinks that could occur.

-----------------------------

_Wow, assassinate Sorceress Edea? That's quite a task. And I'm the one to deliver the kill…I suppose I understand why we're being assigned this mission…Edea has changed for the worse. But still, I just don't know if I can take Matron's life. Back in the orphanage, she took care of me, and everyone else too! I can't believe that Quistis, Selphie, and Zell don't remember…or maybe they just don't care. How can they be okay with this mission…? Doesn't matter I suppose, I'm the one that has to shoot…_

While we were riding on the train to Deling City, I couldn't stop thinking about what I had to do in this mission. Nobody understood me, nobody remembered the past. I heard from somewhere that equipping GFs could do something with your memory, so I guessed that that could have something to do with it, but I just didn't want to accept it. _I do think that it's destiny that brought us all together like this…maybe Selphie would agree. I used to have such a crush on her as a kid, now I get to do something about it._

"Hey Irvine, do you know someone named Squall?" Quistis approached me.

Of course I remembered Squall, he had been at the orphanage too, he was always the quiet one that would fight with Seifer all the time. I was surprised that Quistis remembered him, maybe they were friends or something, I figured. "Yeah, we used to know each other way back."

"Hmm…well he says hi." Quistis walked away with an expression on her face that implied that she was thinking or figuring something out.

That confirmed it, they knew each other and had spoken not long ago. _That's strange, Squall must've known that I live at Galbadia Garden if he knew that Quistis and them would run into me. Hah, maybe he looked me up or something. I wonder what he's up to lately…_

-----------------------------

I hid behind a large rock in the desert, waiting like a panther for a Galbadian military vehicle to approach the missile base. It had been almost an hour since I had began waiting, and the clouds had not been kind enough to hover over me while the sun beat down, never letting up.

A vehicle came into view and I watched and waited for it to come into range so that I could begin the first phase in my operation. When it passed by me and the rock that I was hiding behind, I ran after the car, blade drawn. Luckily, the car was slow since it was made to carry heavy objects and resist the forces of nature. I raised my gun blade and struck the back right tire, causing it to burst and flatten immediately. The car came to a halt and I immediately ran to the back end, crouched out of eyesight and attempted to listen inside.

"What was that? Sounded like a flat, I'll go check it out, you two wait here." One of the soldiers inside the car said to the others.

_So there are three of them, that'll make it slightly more difficult, but not a problem…_ The soldier closed the passenger side door and saw the flat. I jumped from behind the vehicle and quickly casted a sleep spell on him before he could stop me. He shouted, then fell almost instantly and I dragged his sleeping body towards the back where nobody would see him. I heard from inside the car, "What the hell was that? I'll be back."

A soldier crept slowly to the right side of the automobile, "Sid? Where'd you go?"

The soldier caught me by surprise as he jumped into my sights, his sword drawn. I rushed into him and gave him a swift hit to the skull with the blunt end of my gunblade, knocking him out immediately. I had no time to move his body out of the way, as I heard the driver get out on the opposite side of the vehicle. I crouched as I walked from the back to the left of the car to catch him by surprise. I kicked him square in the back, knocking him on his stomach, only to have him turn to see my blade pointed at his throat.

"Oh god, please don't kill me! I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt me!" The soldier pleaded.

I was lucky, I'd found a complete coward. "I'm not gonna kill you, I just want you to change that tire, alright? Can you do that? If you don't, well, you just might end up like your buddies there…"

"Y..yeah! I can change the tire, n..no problem!! Just gimme a minute, oh..okay?"

After taking the frightened soldier's weapons, I allowed him to retrieve the spare tire and the necessary tools from the trunk of the car while I had my blade drawn on him, making sure as to maintain a degree of threat. The man worked fast, scared out of his wits that I would murder him. I had no such desire, I wanted him to re-think his life after this incident, perhaps choosing a better career and becoming a better person.

When he finished replacing the tire, he stood up with his arms high in the air, not knowing what would happen next. I spoke, "Good job, I appreciate it. Now I can't have you going anywhere to alert anyone, so sweet dreams."

I casted a sleep spell and he fell right away, not to wake for at least another hour. I observed the three dozing soldiers, trying to figure out which uniform would be the best fit. I chose the first man I'd knocked out, Sid, as the other soldier had spoken. I put his uniform on over my own clothes and made sure that I could pass for a Galbadian trooper. I confiscated the car keys, got in, and drove off towards the military base.

--------------------------

"General Caraway's mansion is right through this gate, but... I can't just let you walk in." The man guarding Caraway's mansion informed us.

"I do think that he is expecting us." I mentioned.

"Yes indeed, but... I was ordered not to let you through until your skills have been tested."

"What does he want us to do?"

"The Tomb of the Unknown King to the northeast. All you have to do is go there. It's real simple, but... You have to bring back proof that you were there. A code number."

"We came all the way out her for some stupid test of courage? Who does he think we are?" Zell exclaimed.

"There are many students like yourself who wish to call on General Caraway. There was a student from Galbadia Garden yesterday, who has yet to return from the test at the Tomb of the Unknown King. The Tomb of the Unknown King is located northeast of the city. Your objective is to go to the Tomb of the Unknown King, look for traces of this lost student, and return with his ID number. You should be able to find what you're looking for shortly after you go in. The ID number should be written on it. I don't recommend going any further than you have to. You may never make it back alive. Anyway, here's a map for you."

He handed us a map, I pocketed it, and we all walked away. I couldn't help but think about the ID number that Squall had given me before he left us. He told me that I had to remember a number, and that I would be asked for it later, now here I was, having to go out of my way to find a number…It was too similar. It couldn't just be a coincidence, Squall knew that we were going to need that number.

"Wait, everyone. Do you remember Squall giving us a number, and ID number, before he left?" I asked the group.

"Hey, now that you mention it, he did say something about some digits or something, didn't he? Didn't you write it down?" Zell responded.

"I did, but don't you find it strange that he knew? How could he have known that we would need it?"

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Irvine asked.

"I say that we think this through first." I responded. We all walked to the entrance of the town near the water fountain and sat down. "Okay, what are our options? We can go all the way to the Tomb Of The Unknown King and see if Squall was right, or we could trust Squall and tell the guard the number."

"I would sure hate to have to go all the way out there; I'm all for staying here." Selphie suggested.

"I agree with Selphie, it does seem pointless to travel so far for something we probably already have. Besides, Squall did know that we were going to run into Irvine. I mean, what are the odds?" Zell expressed his opinion.

"Let's just do whatever will get us to Vinzer Deling sooner." Rinoa said impatiently.

"You know I'm always up for a long walk by the beach," Irvine said as he looked at Selphie, "But hey, I'll go with whatever you guys decide to do."

"So it's decided, we'll trust Squall and tell the guard the number. Let's go." Rinoa said, then got up and started walking away.

"Wait! We can't go now, he'll suspect something. We can talk to him in a couple hours. That's about how long it would take for us to get to the Tomb, if we were to go that is." I mentioned.

Rinoa stomped her foot on the ground and crossed her arms, looking very irritated, but understanding my decision.

--------------------------

The guard at the gate waved me through without one doubt that I could be an impostor that could, by the end of the day, destroy a missile base. _Piece of cake,_ I thought, _now the real thing begins._


	10. Chapter 10

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

-----------------------------

Chapter 10

"ID 187." I said to Caraway's guard.

"That's correct! Please, right this way."

"Squall was right about the number…but how? There's no way he could've known…" Zell quietly mentioned to the rest of us.

Zell was right, there was no way that Squall could've known but he did know, and none of us could figure out how. We had to continue on though, trying to ignore the impossibility in order to concentrate on the mission assigned to us. We followed the guard into Caraway's mansion.

After awhile of waiting for the General, Rinoa exclaimed, "Hmph... He always does this! So discourteous...making people wait. I'm gonna go complain. Everyone just wait here. Oh, by the way, this is my house. So don't worry. Umm, just don't leave me here, ok?"

My thoughts somehow drifted to Squall, _I sure hope he's okay. I know he's strong, and that he can take care of himself, but I'm just worried. I…I don't know what I'm feeling. Lately, he's just been…more kind, friendlier, like the conversation he and l and I had on the way to the Fire Cavern, or how he comforted Zell, and how he was so supportive when I decided to quit being an instructor. I really like his new self. Really like? Maybe…_ If my thoughts weren't interrupted by General Caraway entering the room, I might've stumbled on some kind of a revelation.

"Umm…where's Rinoa?" Selphie asked the General.

"She has not received the type of training you all have, and may become a burden. It's for the best that she stays out of this operation."

"So you're Rinoa's father?" Selphie inquired.

"I can't remember the last time she called me that."

"So the father's a top military officer, and the daughter's a member of an anti-government faction!? That's bad... Really BAD!" Zell spoke up.

"Yes, indeed. It's a serious problem. But it doesn't concern you. It's our problem…Okay, let me explain the plan." The General said as he walked to the window. "Alright, which one of you is the gunblade specialist?"

"Oh, you must mean Seifer. He's been…dismissed from our team." I informed the General.

"Cid assured me that a gunblade specialist would be provided." The General sighed, accepting the change in plans. "Okay, which of you is the most experienced?"

"I suppose that would be me, sir." I answered.

"Okay then, you and the sharpshooter…" He paused, looking around the room.

"That's me!" Irvine said from across the room.

"Good, he and you will compose the sniper team, the other two of you will compose the Gateway team. I would've preferred to have three for the gateway team, but this'll have to do."

Caraway explained the entire plan to us, taking us out to the streets to show us exactly what the sorceress' parade route was and what we were to do to stop her. I had to silence my many thoughts to get the rundown of my part in the mission. I would have to do some major thinking after the assignment was complete.

--------------------------

"All clear, proceed." The soldier at the gate told me.

I drove past the gate and parked the Galbadian vehicle in an authorized parking space. Before exiting the car, I opened the glove compartment and retrieved a card key, which would permit access to the facility. I walked towards the entrance vestibule, noting the uncomfortable uniform, _Selphie was right, these things are very itchy and smelly._

The card reader beeped and the door opened, which I stepped through. _Okay, step one, find the missile control panel._ I walked casually by a guard in front of the ciruit room, making sure not to look directly at him.

"Hey, wait!" The guard called out to me.

_Can't plan on these things I guess…just play it cool._ I turned around and met his gaze. "Yes?"

"That weapon of yours, has it been approved?"

I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten about my gunblade. It was different from most soldiers' standard-issue swords. I had to remain calm, however, "Yes, it has been approved. What about it?"

The man paused, probably giving me a strange look under his helmet, then said, "Man, I've been trying to get a weapon approved for months. I bought it for pretty high and it's great quality, but they say that it's too big for a soldier to carry."

For a moment there, I had thought that I'd been busted, "Well, they do have a point, you know. You don't want to be running after someone with a heavy weapon slowing you down."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe I should get something like yours, huh?"

I gave him a friendly smirk, turned, and walked away. _Phew, I handled that quite well._ When I reached the bottom of a small staircase, I spotted the control panel right away. I approached it and began fiddling with the buttons, attempting to get it working. A guard posted in front of the nearby command center walked up to me and tapped me on the shoulder, "Sir, do you have authorization to access this computer terminal?"

I had figured that something like this would happen. _Well, I don't suppose that they'd just watch while I sent their missiles to somewhere in the middle of the ocean._ "Listen, would I know the password to this terminal if I weren't authorized to use it? Watch…"

I punched in the password EDEA, just as Selphie had told me, and the main menu was opened up to me. The soldier responded, "Well, I suppose you're right. Only a few people know that password, after all. Carry on."

He strolled back to his post and I began working on the missile destination, accuracy, and other pertinent information related to the launch. Phase one of my operation was going off without a hitch.

-----------------------

_Hey, this'll work great, that man won't mind if I take it…_ I'd found an Odine Bangle in my father's room, which could be used to suppress the sorceress' powers. _The sorceress is working with Deling, and I saw her with Seifer, so she must be as guilty as him._ "Wait till the group sees this."

I scurried back to the room that they were in last, bangle in hand. "Look what I found in that man's room." I showed to Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie and explained what I knew of Odine and his top-quality magical goods. Zell seemed impressed by it, but Quistis looked disapprovingly at me.

She slowly walked over to me, a somewhat worried look on her face, and explained, "Listen Rinoa, I know that you're still very upset about Seifer and I know that you want revenge, but we need to handle this situation. We are SeeDs, and we've been assigned this mission, you have not. I just don't want you to get yourself into any unnecessary danger. I'm sorry."

Quistis turned and walked out of the room, with everyone else following her soon after. _Of course I'm still upset about Seifer…and I'm going to get my revenge even if I have to do it alone. Sorry Quistis, but this is something I have to do._

I ran out of the room and went out the back door of the house which led to an alleyway with a bunch of big boxes stacked together. _Wow, those boxes are pretty big, but maybe if I climb them, I can get to that ledge, which should lead over there…well, I'm not getting anywhere by just standing here._

I climbed onto the boxes, which was no easy task, from one to the other, grunting and groaning as I pulled myself up. _SeeD nothin', I've got this all under control._ I encountered a pretty big gap between the box I was standing on and the ledge leading to the rooftops. I took a deep breath, tried not to think, and jumped to the other side, my heart racing like a chocobo.

I traversed the rooftop of the presidential residence and reached a door. I wasn't too sure where it would lead, but I got out my trusty Odine Bangle anyways, in case that sneaky sorceress poofed out of nowhere. When I entered, there were translucent draperies all over the ceilings, mostly pink, very classy. In the center of the room was a single chair, with the sorceress planted on it, probably waiting for her cue to go out and give her speech. _No speech tonight, witch._

I would have to act sneaky and trick her into taking the bangle if the plan was going to work. I'd use the old shy fan trick, "Umm... Excuse me... I'm...the daughter of, um...Galbadian Army's, um...General Caraway. I...thought I'd...come pay my respects... You know... 'cause of my father and all... So, I...um...brought you a small gift. Please…" I began inching closer to her majesty, then the next thing I knew, I was looking at a bunch of people in the Deling City square, with Edea nowhere in sight. A large parade float was below me, making its way past the gate and into town. I heard a growl behind me and quickly swiveled around, only to see two huge half-lion, half-lizard things on the rooftop, staring at me with a not-so-friendly look on their reptilian faces. I had no time to figure out how I'd gotten there or what was happening, so I ran, looking for someplace to hide. I couldn't possibly fight those things by myself, after all.

-----------------------

Irvine and I listened to Edea's cryptic speech, disgusted at her contempt for the people that adored her. After the speech was over, Irvine noticed something on the roof and shouted to compensate for the noisy crowd, "Is that Rinoa!?"

It was indeed Rinoa, and she was being attacked by monsters. I shouted to Irvine, "She's in trouble, let's go!"

We pushed our way through the people of Deling City as the parade began. We crouched while we ran across the street in front of the parade floats, headed towards an alleyway near the presidential residence. Luckily, no guards spotted us cutting across the floats and we found an alley with convenient boxes stacked to the roof. Irvine and I climbed the large wooden boxes with relative ease and jumped to the adjacent building. We swiftly made it to the last place we had seen Rinoa and drew our weapons.

Rinoa had somehow managed to avoid the two beasts by hiding behind large pillars and using a few magic spells to subdue them. When Irvine and I arrived, the creatures turned to us, all four of us with intentions to kill. The things were fast and were able to attack first, tackling me to the ground. Irvine shot the demon's midsection and I quickly got up and slashed it with my whip.

The battle raged on, and with the crowd's cheering for the parade as the background noise; it felt like some kind of terrible sporting event. One of the monsters finally keeled over dead, with the other shortly following it to the afterlife. Irvine and I were scratched up, bruised, and injured, but we survived. Rinoa emerged from one of the pillars, scared out of her mind. Ironically, I ended up soothing her the she healed us with her cure spells.

Rinoa mentioned, "Maybe I should've listened to Squall. He told me that my life would be in danger if I tried to be a hero. He must be psychic or something, huh?"

_He was something, alright. But Rinoa was right, he had known about this too. How did he know that all these things would happen? Amazing…_

-----------------------

_Upload complete, that should throw the missiles off course. Now, to delay the launch, I will cut the power to the base._ I walked away from the panel and up the stairs to the circuit room. The guard that was there before was there again, but I got through with a few simple words that had worked for Selphie before, "The maintenance team asked me to take their place with the inspection."

"Alright, go ahead." He responded, not knowing of my diabolical intentions.

I walked in, and luckily, no one was in there with me. Selphie had said to simply bang on the panel and press any random buttons. I couldn't make heads or tails with the machine, so I resorted to Selphie's unique method. Somehow, pressing a few buttons and slamming my fist into the machine enough times caused the entire base to go dark. The emergency lights kicked in, but the circuit room was still quite dark. I hid in the shadows where nobody could see me and waited for the technicians to come in. The outside guard ran inside, looking for me, but I knocked him over the head with the handle on my gunblade and dragged his body to the dark corner. After a minute, two men walked through the door, frantically asking each other questions and spouting technical nonsense. I casted a sleep spell on one of them from my hidden spot in the corner, knocking him out immediately.

"Hey, what are doing?…Are you snoring?" The conscious soldier asked the snoozing one.

I ran up to the soldier and jabbed him in the neck, knocking him to the floor. I had no intentions to kill the man, so I gave him a swift kick to his stomach, which seemed to subdue him. I jogged out of the room, heading towards the command center. None of the soldiers suspected me, figuring I was as busy as they were. The guard that had been blocking my path to the command center was gone, so I simply walked up the stairs, gunblade drawn.

When I arrived at the top, there were three solders in the room, two at the computers and one captain wearing red armor hovering over the other two, giving them orders and such. _I need to use these machines, and I can't do it with them here, so it looks like there's no room for subtlety…_

Before I could attack, the captain turned around and yelled, "Hey, who are you? You're not supposed to be in here!"

The other two soldiers turned away from their computers just in time to see me run up and skillfully trip the captain to the floor, my blade at his throat. "Put down your weapons!" I shouted to the other two, who had pointed their swords at me. While my head was turned to them, the captain pushed my gunblade out of his face and kicked me in the chest. I was knocked back a few feet, only to look down at the captain as he pointed his arm-mounted machine guns at me. I swiftly ran to my right, bullets hitting the wall only a few inches behind me. As I ran, I initiated a thunder spell, dove and cast it down onto the captain. I quickly got up and clashed swords with one of the soldiers attacking me. The other came at me to my left, so I did a quick, hard roundhouse kick to his gut, knocking the wind out of him. My sword still on the other soldiers', we engaged in a brief sword fight, but with I being the better fighter, I was able to disarm him and give him a good couple of punches to the face, forcing him to the corner. The captain that was on the floor grabbed my leg, and out of pure reflex, I brought my gunblade down on his throat, bringing death to the man. The soldier I had kicked in the chest ran to me, sword in hand. He attacked, I ducked under his blow and stabbed him through the chest.

Even though I had killed before, this was different. I had not wanted for these people to die, I had thought that I'd be able to prevent death with my knowledge of the future. Yet, there I was, my gunblade stained with the blood of two human beings. I couldn't figure out how I could've lost control like I had. But I had no time to think, I had to continue with my mission, to save many more lives.

I walked to the only living soldier in the room and talked intensely to him, lying, "I left you alive for one reason, and one reason alone. You're going to get on this computer and cancel any and every launch that is being prepared. I don't have to tell you what will happen if you don't do what I say."

-----------------------

Quistis, Rinoa, and I found the hidden compartment and entered the designated sniper point. The sniper rifle waited for me there, the weapon that would kill Matron. Everyone was counting on me, the whole operation led to this point. The decision between success and failure was between me and the rifle. I reluctantly picked up the cold piece of metal and got in position, waiting for the platform to rise so that I could put a bullet in a sorceress' body.

I heard Rinoa mention something about me and my sudden change of attitude, but I ignored her. _I can't do it, I can't do something like this to Matron. I know that she seems completely different from when I once knew her, but I know that there's still something good in her. I can't simply blow her away without giving her a chance. What will the others think? To go so far only to fail? I think maybe I shouldn't tell them the truth about what I feel. I'll explain some other time, maybe._

"Irvine, are you alright?" Quistis crouched next to me and asked.

"I…I can't do it."

"Oh no, don't tell me this." Quistis responded.

"I...I can't... I'm sorry, I can't do it. I always choke like this... I try to act all cool, joke around, but I just can't handle the pressure…" What I said hadn't been a complete lie…

"Listen Irvine, you have a job to do, and that is to assassinate the sorceress of Galbadia, so just do it!" Quistis yelled in impatience and panic as the platform we were on began to rise.

"My bullet... The sorceress... I'll go down in history. I'd change the history of Galbadia... Of the world! It's all too much…"

Quistis paused for a moment, attempting to calm down and think of a way to fix the situation, "…okay, I'll attack head on. 'If the sniper should fail, you are to attack the sorceress head on' according to the mission. But I need you to fire a signal shot, just so Zell and Selphie know what's going on, okay?" In the distance, the gates closed, trapping Matron.

I felt like such a wimp then, having a girl doing a man's job, all because I didn't have the guts to shoot someone. "…Just a signal?" I uttered out.

"Yes, just a signal."

I was precise in my miss, as I aimed a foot away from Matron's body. When the bullet left the gun, relief shot me and I let out a sigh, knowing that my part was over. Quistis assured me, "That was good, Irvine. Now if it looks like I need help, Irvine, back me up. Rinoa, stay here and out of trouble."

And with that, Quistis jumped off the platform and ran to the gate, whip in hand, snapping at any soldier that stood in her way as she bolted through the hysterical crowd. Quistis prepared a spell and a large flame appeared at the base of the gate, creating a hole that she slid through. She climbed up the float and was encountered by a blond haired man in a white military coat.

-----------------------

"Why is it taking so long?" I impatiently asked my captive.

"It just takes time..." He responded.

I looked at the computer screen and noticed the words 'Silent Alarm Activated' flashing in large letters. I held my blade at the captive's neck as I grabbed him from behind. "What the hell is that?! What are you doing?"

"…you killed my friends, I can't let you get away with it."

Out of raw anger, I slid my blade against the man's throat, fatally wounding him as he struggled to let in air, only to have the oxygen escape through the large gash in his neck. He collapsed and ceased moving. That made three kills in ten minutes. I noticed that my left hand was clenched into a fist, anger leaving my body while my conscience settled into realization. Without thinking of the consequences, I let my anger get hold of me, and now I had taken someone's life.

Again, I had to keep moving. The guards would arrive soon and I needed to rig the base to explode. I ran to the room adjacent to the command center and noticed the panel for the self-destruct mechanism. _I can't fail here. With a few button presses, I will change the future._

-----------------------

It was Seifer. Somehow, I was looking at him from afar, him alive and well. I froze for the longest time, trying to figure out what was happening. My quest to get revenge for the death of Seifer yielded an encounter with Seifer. I would've kept thinking if I hadn't observed Quistis readying her whip and Seifer stepping back and drawing his gunblade. "Oh no! I have to stop them!" I yelled.

I leapt off of the platform just as Quistis had moments before and ran at lightning speed towards the float. I could hear Irvine yelling at me, shouting for me to stop as he attempted to catch up with me. I stepped through the hole in the gate and climbed onto the float. Luckily, Seifer and Quistis had not begun fighting.

"Seifer? You're alive?" It was probably the dumbest question I could've asked, seeing as he was obviously alive. I just had to assure myself that this was really happening.

"Oh, I guess you heard about my execution, huh? Sorry you had to hear that, sweetie." Seifer responded.

"…but what are you doing here? Why are you fighting Quistis?"

"I'm defending the sorceress. I am her knight, and I must protect her. Even if it means fighting my dear ex-instructor. I hope you understand."

"Sorceress' knight?…But why?"

"It is my dream, it always has. Remember me telling you about my dream?"

I recalled Seifer telling me about his lifelong dream of being a sorceress' knight. I had never thought that it would actually come true. But here he was, on the enemy's side. I had to defend Quistis. When it came down to it, she was doing the right thing and Seifer was not. I had to do what was right, even though I thought I loved Seifer. "I won't let you hurt Quistis. Just please snap out of it!! I don't want to do this!! I want an end to the fighting, let's just go home to Balamb Garden and live happily ever after!"

"…I'm sorry Rinoa, but I will defend my dream, and my sorceress, even if it means fighting you."

I reluctantly pulled out my Pinwheel weapon then…I felt sleepy. Before I passed out, I heard Irvine saying, "Sorry Rinoa, but I can't let you get yourself hurt again…"

-----------------------

Indescribable pain. My body felt like it was on fire, even though no flames were resonating out of the blade struck through my chest. Someone must have snuck behind me and showed no mercy. Most people would be thinking about the horrible pain they were feeling in their torso, but I was thinking about the horrible pain that the Trabians would be feeling because I had not stopped the missile launch…


	11. Chapter 11

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

-----------------------------

Chapter 11

I had passed out after being stabbed through the chest, much like when I passed out after Seifer scarred my face. The next conscious moment, I was observing a familiar person land a killing blow to a Blue Dragon; it was Kiros, the man who traveled with Laguna so long ago. My body felt hot and sweaty, like I had been fighting something for some time and I noticed that I was carrying a machine gun, the same weapon that Laguna Loire preferred. I immediately grasped what was going on; it felt all too familiar. Even though I had told Ellone everything I knew about Laguna's past and what he had gone through to save her, she must have needed to use my consciousness to view some point in Laguna's past.

The large creature roared and fell dead after Kiros' blades slashed it across the torso. I heard someone speak from my lips, "Whoa!! Good one, man!! Now that thing won't even get a chance to terrorize our town!! Let's return to base, Asst. Kiros, the commander is waiting."

I was in Laguna's body alright, I didn't talk like that, that was for sure. Laguna turned around and headed towards the small town of Winhill. There weren't too many small towns in the world, so Winhill has easy to recognize; the gorgeous stone architecture and the many flowers scattered about made a staple on my memory. We had been on the outskirts of Winhill when we had fought the Blue Dragon, but why a Blue Dragon was in that region was beyond me.

The evening felt terribly dense and uncomfortable and the skies were overcast, dark and foreboding. Since I hadn't experienced this event before, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly which time period I was in. _Alright, Laguna and Kiros are still doing their patrols in Winhill, so I imagine that they haven't been to Esthar yet. I wonder why Ellone has picked this point in time…_

There were no monsters on the way through the streets of Winhill, so Laguna and Kiros must have done a good job with their patrols. They finally arrived at the pub, which was known as 'base' to Laguna and Kiros. Laguna and I noticed that a few tables and chairs were knocked over and we heard someone weeping upstairs. Laguna ran up the stairs, Kiros following closely behind, to observe Raine, the owner of the pub, crying on the couch. She looked up and I saw a large red mark on her face, but I couldn't tell if it was due to her crying or from something else.

Raine ran up to Laguna and shouted, "They took Ellone!!"

I expected Laguna to respond immediately, but he paused. I could feel his face stuck in a form of denial and confusion. He finally sputtered out, "Wh..what are you talking about…Who? Who took Ellone? Where? How? What happened!?"

Raine tried her best to stop crying to tell Laguna, "Just a few minutes ago, a short, strange-looking man and three huge men showed up and said something about how they needed to conduct some important experiments on Ellone. Then they just took her, with Ellone yelling and screaming. I tried to stop them, but they hit me and ran off…They must've been waiting for you and Kiros to leave…" Raine then resumed crying.

I felt Laguna's rage and sadness radiate from him, his fists clenched tight, his face red, teeth barred. He asked Raine intensely, "Where did they go?"

"I saw them run to the East side of town, towards the ocean."

Laguna bolted down the stairs, taking three steps at a time. His foot missed one of the steps and he fell to the base of the stairs. I could feel his face slamming against the wooden floor, only for him to pick himself up right away and race out of the pub, swinging the door wide open and sprinting out of town. I hadn't felt such adrenaline coursing through me since the time I ran from the spider robot on the Dollet mission. After a minute or two of running toward the shore, I could feel Laguna's stamina dropping, yet he ran as fast as he could in a vain attempt to get Ellone back.

Laguna reached the ocean and stopped on the beach, a faraway boat sailing away from him. Laguna drew his machine gun and fired relentlessly in the boat's direction, even though we both knew that the bullets wouldn't hit at such a long range. He eventually ran out of bullets, dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, completely drained of hope and energy. I literally felt Laguna's sadness as tears rolled down his cheeks, felt his fingers tingling, his mouth dry, his eyes burning…

-----------------------

"Zell and I were in the gate control room when the Galbadian soldiers rushed in and arrested us. They outnumbered us, so we didn't resist, ya know? Anyways, I don't know when or how or why, but I must've passed out somewhere in there. But I had the most intense dream, I swear it was like I was…someone else. Like, I was in their body, but I couldn't control their movement or anything, like I was just watching. But the person I 'was' was killing this dragon thing with some cool arm-blade thingies. Then me and this guy, this really really handsome guy, Laguna was his name, started walking towards this small town. I dunno, but it was so real, like I felt his footsteps, and I felt his mouth moving when he talked. I think his name was Kiros, and he was Laguna's assistant or something. Poor Laguna though, his daughter or someone was kidnapped. Then I woke up here."

I had explained the strange dream the best I could, even though no words could describe how real it was. I had some dreams where I thought they were pretty extreme, but this one had been different. Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell had listened intently to what I had to say, but Zell seemed to be interested the most, paying attention with fascination in his eyes.

"Wow Selphie, that's really weird. Zell woke up at the same time you did, you know? Come to think of it, when did you pass out, Zell?" Rinoa mentioned.

Zell had a look of disbelief in his face when he answered, "I remember…Selphie passed out right before I did. I suddenly got real sleepy and then I had this…intense dream. But I was this heavyset janitor guy who couldn't talk. I could feel something strange in his throat, like his vocal cords were missing. Like Selphie's dream, I could feel what he felt, like when he was sweating from working real hard. You know, he actually worked in a place like this prison…"

A lot of strange things had happened lately, like all of us being arrested and me waking up in prison after having a majorly vivid dream. Now Zell had had a dream a lot like mine. None of us could figure out any explanations to our experience, so we just sorta stayed quiet. I was worried about some things though. Like Trabia, and how there was a possible missile strike planning to hit it. I tried not to think about that, though. I was concerned for Rinoa, as she had just found out that Seifer had turned bad. She seemed lost in thought, and I figured that I should've left her alone. I was worried about Squall, too; nobody knew where he was or what he was up to, so I said, "I wonder where Squall is right now…"

Quistis looked up and away, "I sure hope he's okay…" I could definitely sense some kind of emotion other than wonder in her voice. It sounded more like…major worry and sadness.

I had to ask Quistis, so I crawled up close to her and asked, "Do you have feelings for Squall? You've been pretty quiet ever since he left, and I see that your fingernails have shortened…you nervous or something?"

Quistis trusted me, I could tell that much, so she sighed and whispered back, "I don't know what I feel. I mean, he used to be so different, then one day, he's really nice to me and we start talking. But I just don't know what's on his mind, you know, if he likes me or not."

"Well…" I was interrupted by the prison door opening.

-----------------------

I was hoping that I wouldn't wake up, but I did. The all too familiar cramped prison cell welcomed me when I opened my eyes. I felt my chest for the horrible stab wound that should've been there, but there were no signs of damage at all. Being in the 'dream world' healed me of all wounds, as before when Edea had put an ice lance through my chest.

I slammed my fist into the metal floor, "Damn!!"

_I don't get it…why can't I change the future? I know what will happen, when it happens, and how to stop it, but every time I try, I fail. I couldn't prevent the launch, I was stabbed through the chest, and now I'm going to be tortured by Seifer…Why do I even try? Nothing I do matters…events will run their course and I will be forced to watch it happen, powerless to stop anything…_

Ellone must have wanted to know something about Laguna's past that I didn't tell her on the boat. I hadn't even experienced the moment in Laguna's life that I had just seen. I found it strange and coincidental that she had picked the moment that I was in desperate need to bring me into the dream world. If she had chosen some other time, I might not have lived.

The door opened to Seifer, a smirk on his face at the prospect of me being under his mercy, which I knew he would show little of. "Squall, you're pitiful."

As the guards strapped me into the torture device built into the wall, I imagined what I would say to Seifer this time. _Maybe I should tell him the true meaning of SeeD, then maybe he'll let me go…who am I kidding…I'm done denying my abilities, I can't change anything…he's going to torture me, and I'm going to feel pain…_

"You know Squall, you should be congratulating me. I've become sorceress Edea's knight. That's right, I've achieved my dream! What do you think of that!?" I remained silent, staring at his smug face. "Hmph, how very brave of you to infiltrate a missile base by yourself, Squall. I must say that I'm impressed at how far you got. What do you think you are, some kind of one-man army? Too bad, though, all the calculations have been corrected and the launch is right back on schedule.

The launch was back on schedule, he said. In case I had even a shred of hope that my operation would have made the missiles miss their target, Seifer assured me that there was no hope of Trabia being spared. I stared at him, my hatred flowing even more than my fear. _It's all Seifer's fault…if he hadn't attacked the president…_

I gave Seifer the coldest stare, wanting nothing else in the world than to break free and strangle the life out of him. He knew how angry I was so he smirked, knowing that he had gotten to me. Seifer approached me and slid his gunblade across my face, saying, "You really despise me, don't you…?" He walked over to the voltage switch and remarked, "I assure you, the feeling is mutual."

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, knowing what horrible pain I was about to endure. When the electricity hit my body, all of my muscles tensed up as a reflex, hardening to the point where I felt that I would burst. The countless volts located every inch of my body as I yelled at the top of my lungs, as if doing so would make the pain go away. The switch didn't go off when I expected, Seifer held it in place for an eternity, a huge grin on his face as he watched me suffer. I felt myself beginning to black out when Seifer shut off the machine, making sure to keep me awake for his inquisition.

After the electricity stopped, my muscles attempted to relax, but the lingering volts caused them to tense up time and time again, my body twitching uncontrollably. My right eyelid remained closed, no matter how much will I mustered to open it. My breaths only came out in quick blows, wheezing when I inhaled oxygen. My insides felt like molten lava while my skin had the sensation like that of a sheet of ice. I hadn't felt such pain before; this was the peak of all physical pain that I had ever endured. I had no doubt in my mind that Seifer was doing what he did because I had beat him in our 'training' the other day. He was definitely one to hold a grudge.

Seifer walked up to my spasming body, showing no remorse for the inhumane act he had just performed. "My my my, Squall, you look tired. I hope for your sake that you have enough energy to answer a few questions. Now, I gather that you invaded the missile base because of your delusions of stopping our missile strike on Balamb Garden, correct?"

I couldn't even raise my head high enough to look at him, much less answer his questions. He waited for my answer impatiently and walked over to the voltage switch. I quickly managed to mutter, "Yessss…"

"Very good, next question: What is the true purpose of SeeD? Edea demands to know."

I had thought about what I would say in case this situation arose, so I was prepared, "…SeeD's true purpose…is to locate and extract…the most powerful Guardian Forces and magic from around…the world…"

Seifer paused, thinking about what I had just given him. "To find and extract the most powerful GFs and the strongest magic in the world? I figured it would take longer to crack you, but all you give me is this crap about GFs and magic? Is that the best you could come up with?"

I had figured that a rhetorical question until he walked over to the switch and put his hand on it. "It's not…a lie…that's what Cid told me…and the rest of us when we became…SeeDs…"

Seifer didn't care about the truth, he wanted to have more fun with me, but he knew that he had to report the information to Edea. "I don't believe you, so I'll be back to continue our little game. Until then," he yelled at the guard as he walked away, "Find out everything you can from this pathetic wretch."

-----------------------

Zell had bravely left us to retrieve our weapons from somewhere in the massive prison. Selphie and I could do nothing else but wait for him to return, so Selphie continued our conversation we had started earlier, "So tell me, how has Squall changed? You say that he suddenly changed into a better person, right? I don't know him all that well, ya know. What was he like before?"

"He used to be so introverted, he would never talk to anyone unless he had to. Whenever I tried to start up a conversation, he would have none of it. I don't think he had any friends at Balamb Garden, he mainly just kept to himself. But then one day, he starts being friendly to people and began talking to me. Then I started to think that maybe he likes me, you know?"

"What makes you say that? Do you think he was flirting with you or what?"

"Not really…I just kinda thought…" I trailed off, not wanting to tell Selphie that I had a crush on Squall before he was a nice guy.

"Oh, you liked him before he changed, didn't you? That's it, isn't it?"

Selphie was good, she had extracted some information without me even giving her any clues. I hadn't really talked to anyone about my feelings for Squall before, so it was kind of a relief to finally share with someone. "Well…yeah, I kinda did. I thought that maybe if he could trust someone, then he would open up. I was holding on to hope that I could be that person that he could finally confide in. But then…when he changed, I guess I thought that he finally trusted me. Do you think he does?"

"Well, he kinda seems like he trusts all of us. Now, I don't know him as well as you do, so I really can't say, but..." Selphie paused, the silence unnerving. "…Actually, Squall seemed to be trying to talk to Rinoa more than you. I'm not saying anything's going on there, but that's just what I think."

It hadn't even occurred to me that Squall could like somebody else. Maybe I was just blinding myself from the truth so that it wouldn't hurt so much, but I wasn't about to give up on Squall. "I don't know, but I think I should tell him how I feel. If I don't, then I'll never know if he feels the same way.

"There ya go! That's the ticket! Just make sure that YOU know how you feel before you go telling him, okay?"

"Right."

_The next time I see Squall, whenever that may be, I'll tell him. I'll tell him that I like him more than a friend and that I think maybe we should try dating or something, then see where it goes…oh, what if he shares my feelings…I just hope he's alright…_

-----------------------

My conscience was burning as Irvine and I drove from the desert prison back to Deling City. That man had ordered Irvine to pardon me out of prison, but not any of my friends. I thought about my two options: crawl back to Deling City where that man would never let me out of his sights ever again or go back to the desert prison and break Quistis, Zell, and Selphie out. It was a tough decision, but I managed to come up with an answer in about ten seconds. Anything was better than going back home.

"Irvine, go back to the desert prison!" I ordered.

"No, it's your father's order. I'm taking you back to Deling City."

I had figured this would happen, Irvine obeying orders like some kind of drone. I had hoped it wouldn't come down to it, but I had to go back, so I began doing whatever I could to convince Irvine. I began scratching at him, attempting to take the wheel, but Irvine remained strong.

"Ouch! Are you crazy?" He responded to my feeble attacks.

"We have to go back and help everybody!"

I guess Irvine finally had enough, so he stopped the car and said, "They'll be fine. I'm sure they can get outta there when the time comes."

"But they need our help! And I really really don't wanna go back to Deling City! Come on, I don't care if I have to force you back!" I began hitting him on the arm as hard as I could, which I think was pretty hard since I was angry. I was still mad at Irvine for casting a sleep spell on me in Deling City when I could've helped him and Quistis fight Seifer.

"Ow...Ow...OUCH! Okay, okay... I'll go, I'll go!" Irvine cried out as he finally gave in to my torture and turned the car around.

--------------------

Seifer and the guard had left me alone over an hour after a long session of shock torture. I had nothing else to tell them, but they relentlessly interrogated me anyways. They had fatally wounded me with their electrotherapy, death sure to come if I didn't receive medical attention or a cure spell soon.

As I hung there, my body shivered uncontrollably due to the freezing metal pressing against my bare back. What scared me the most, however, was when I stopped feeling the shivering and the cold. I couldn't gather enough energy to open my eyelids, but I couldn't sleep. All I could do while I waited for death was think.

_Okay, everyone will come and save me, so don't worry. Any moment now, that door will open, and Quistis, Zell, and Selphie will come get me out of here…but Quistis, Zell, and Selphie don't know that I'm here…but there's still Rinoa and Irvine. Right now they should be turning back to come and rescue me. Though, what if Rinoa takes what I told her to heart? I told her to stay out of trouble and to not do anything dangerous that could threaten her life…nobody is coming to rescue me…………Why did this have to happen? Why do I have to go through this whole hellish adventure all over again? One time was enough, but here I am, hanging in a torture machine, about to die…I should be with Rinoa right now, a Rinoa that shares my love…we should be celebrating the defeat of Ultimecia and be holding each other, watching shooting stars streak across the sky…but here I am, hanging in a torture machine, about to die…_

Tears formed in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks at the prospect of never seeing Rinoa again. It was too much to bear, I couldn't hold back. I couldn't remember the last time I had wept, but I had plenty to weep for then.

-----------------------

Zell, Selphie, and I fought our way up the countless floors of the towering prison. We had tried escaping through the bottom of the prison, but we learned the hard way that the place was buried halfway underground. Our only option was the top, and it was hell having to traverse the numerous floors, battling security robots and guards all the way. When we eventually reached the top, we were approached by two doors, one at the top of a small stairway, and the other straight ahead on our level. Even though the exit was logically up the stairs, I felt some kind of urge, an unexplainable feeling told me to go through the door ahead of us.

Our weapons drawn, we entered the room, ready for anything. That's what I had thought until I saw Squall hanging in a torture machine on the wall. After the initial shock, I shouted, "Squall!!" and hurried over to him.

After Squall hadn't responded, I tapped him with my fingers repeatedly, yelling, "Squall! Squall? Wake up! Come on…" When he hadn't moved or reacted to my efforts, my body froze. I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I just stared at Squall's unmoving body.

I heard Zell shouting to us, "Hey, I think I found the release switch!"

The restraints that were holding Squall to the machine opened and Squall fell. I instinctively caught him in my arms and ease him to the floor, face up. _He's just knocked out, just knocked out. Hold on, Squall._ I casted a revive spell on his cold body, but nothing happened. All four of us stayed still, not knowing what to think. None of us wanted to consider the horrible possibility, so I tried again. After nothing happened, my heart sank to my knees. I put my hand to my mouth and felt tears forming in my eyes. All of my senses numbed; I couldn't do anything but look at Squall's lifeless body.

_Oh my god…no…I can't…thi…this can't be happening…you can't be…I…I loved you…I never even…and now you'll never find out…I'll never be able to hear your voice again…_

Selphie must've been tapping me on the shoulder and talking to me for some time, but I couldn't hear her. I heard only one thing that she said, "…Squall could still be alive." I looked up at Selphie with tear-filled eyes, "There may be an anti-magic field in here. Let's take him outside, okay?"

I nodded quickly and picked myself up. I grabbed Squall under his arms as Zell picked him up by his legs. All I could think about was, "It makes sense. Of course there's an anti-magic field in the torture room. That's it, that's all it was." We made our way to the door at the top of the stairs and to the light outside. Before we could do anything, we were stopped by Rinoa and Irvine, who seemed to be going in to the prison.

"Whoa, what are you guys…Oh my god, Squall?! Is he alright?!" Rinoa exclaimed.

I ignored Rinoa and set Squall down on the floor. Everyone surrounded Squall as I silently prayed and casted a revive spell. Relief couldn't nearly describe the feeling that came to me when I saw Squall open his eyes. I wanted nothing more than to hug him, but I stopped myself, thinking that he might be hurt from the torture he had suffered.

--------------------

When I opened my eyes and saw Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and Irvine all around me, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. I saw Quistis wiping away her tears and everyone else showing obvious relief that I was alright. I couldn't believe that I had lived, I had accepted the fact that was going to die there in that room yet somehow, my friends had saved me. I had been through a lot lately, but seeing everyone happy because I was alive made me feel like I was among friends, truly blessed.

After some time, I got up with the help of Zell and Irvine and made it to the elevator that led to the bottom exit of the desert prison. I wanted nothing more than to hug Rinoa, to know what I had lived for, but I knew that it would seem inappropriate to her, so I retrained myself. On the way down, I told everyone my story, from the moment I left them to the torture room. They all listened intently, disbelief in their faces as I told them about how I managed to infiltrate a military base by myself.

When we reached the bottom, we entered a small two-car garage at the base of the structure. Selphie, Irvine, and I piled into one Galbadian vehicle while I told the others to follow us. My mission was far from complete; I had to save Balamb Garden. 


	12. Chapter 12

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 12

Selphie started the conversation that I'd gone through a lot to prevent, "Squall, you said that you couldn't stop the missile strike, right?"

I sighed, "…no, I couldn't stop the launch…"

"Then shouldn't we go to the base to try and prevent the launch from happening?"

I immediately responded, "No. It can't be done…we'd only put ourselves in danger."

"But that was just you acting alone, maybe with all of us, we can stop it!"

"Selphie…" Off in the distance, a barrage of missiles fired from the missile base. Irvine stopped the car immediately and everyone got out.

As the missiles faded from our sights and onward north, all of us remained silent. Nobody dared to speak until the sound from the missiles stopped, as if we were waiting for them to finish speaking. _All of my efforts up until now, all the hell I suffered, all the mental anguish I put myself through, only to end with me watching the missiles rocket towards Trabia…_

Irvine mentioned, "I...heard they were hitting Trabia first, and then Balamb."

Selphie fell to her knees after hearing the facts from Irvine. "Trabia... I'm sorry... I couldn't stop it... Please let everybody be all right. Please... That was a miss...right...?"

Even though I had recently accepted that I couldn't change the future, watching Selphie break down then made me despise myself, thinking I didn't do everything I could to stop the horrible event from occurring. I looked around at everyone, watching their wondering faces as they thought about what to do next.

Selphie insisted, "Squall, I can't let this happen to Balamb Garden. We have to go to that missile base and stop the launch. I don't care what you say, I'm going, so let's split up into…"

"NO!!" I interrupted. Everyone's heads turned to me at my outburst. "We're not going back there. Stopping the launch is a lost cause; we need to go to Balamb Garden and warn them, and that's what we'll do."

Zell approached me, scratching his head nervously as he spoke, "Umm Squall…I kinda agree with Selphie that we should go to the missile base. I mean, if Balamb Garden had wheels or something, then I'd be on your side, but I don't wanna see it destroyed, so I say we at least try to stop the launch."

I was beginning to lose everyone's favor, which I needed to gain back. "You may not believe me, but I've got a plan that will save the Garden. You've got to believe me, everyone and everything will be fine, but only if we go soon. Listen, when I told you to remember the ID number 187, did it not grant you access to Caraway's mansion? Also, I told you to tell Irvine I said 'hi' before me and him even met." I paused to let the group think about what I'd just told them. They all looked away and at each other, as if they knew I was right, but didn't want to admit it. "If I was right about those things, then I think I deserve a little credit now. You all don't have to come with me if you don't want, but I'm going, okay?"

With that, I returned to the Galbadian vehicle, wondering if I should've told them the whole story and how I knew future events. I chose not to, because it would be less complicated that way. Also, if I told them, they would think of me as some kind of hero or something and they'd tack all responsibilities on me. I wasn't ready for such a burden. If something bad were to happen, it would be my fault in their eyes because I didn't prevent it. They wouldn't have understood that I could not change the future. The truth was, I couldn't understand why I couldn't change the future, either. The difference was that I accepted that I couldn't.

--------------------------

It was hard not to cry after seeing the missiles fly off into the afternoon sky. The instruments of death would surely hit Trabia first, as Irvine had said. Seemed to be a worthy enough reason to cry, but I held it back, trying to be tough, showing everyone that I could be positive all the time. I would probably cry when I saw the remains of Trabia, but not until then, I imagined. Only until I saw with my own eyes that all the people I cared about, everything I held dear, were gone, then I would break down, not a minute sooner.

Everyone stood in silence after Squall closed the door to the car. Finally, Rinoa spoke, "…he does have a point, you know."

I knew that Squall had been right, I just didn't want to admit it, but Rinoa had the guts to say what we were all thinking. Zell agreed, "Totally. He hasn't steered us wrong lately, maybe we should listen to him."

"Yeah, how did he know that Irvine was at Galbadia Garden? And he was dead-on with the ID number, and just now, he said that it permitted access to Caraway's mansion, which it did. There is no way he could've known these things." Quistis mentioned.

"Pretty strange guy. But I do admit that he does seem to know what's going on." Irvine explained.

I finally caved in, "Okay, okay, he does have a point. But all I'm saying is that this is a big decision and I think that we should consider our options before making a choice. We can either try to stop the missile launch or go back to Balamb Garden. Okay, let's make it easy, who wants to go to Garden?"

Everyone slowly raised their hands, indicating their choice to go to Garden. I had to go with the unanimous decision, like it was my choice to begin with. I still couldn't grasp how Squall could know so much, even though I hadn't known him that long.

I felt that it was time to discuss it, "Okay, what's everyone's theories on Squall's 'future-telling ability'? It's just too weird to let go."

Zell was the first to speak, "See, I think that he has some kind of weird magic that can predict the future. I don't know how he got it, but it must be rare, you know?"

Quistis had a better theory, "Umm, I disagree. You see, he only recently got this 'ability', which was right about when he fought with Seifer the other day. His attitude also changed after that incident, actually. I believe that Seifer hit Squall so hard that something strange happened to Squall's mind. I've heard of experiences where somebody got hit in the head and had prophetic abilities afterwards. That's my theory, at least."

"Maybe we should just ask him. We haven't actually approached him on the subject, you know." Rinoa suggested.

"Listen, if we're going to head to Balamb Garden to stop this strike, then we better go now." Irvine pointed out.

I agreed, "Right, we'll ask him later. I'm going in the yellow car, who wants to drive?"

"Oh, well I guess I will." Irvine insisted quickly.

Quistis and Zell went with Squall, while Irvine and Rinoa came with me. Rinoa told me that she needed to talk to me about her feelings for Seifer. _Good, I kinda need to ask her about how she feels about Squall anyways._

--------------------------

It had taken what seemed like forever, but Quistis sat in the back seat with me while Zell got in the driver's seat. I felt like I should be the one driving, so I suggested, "Hey Zell, do you want me to drive?"

"No man, you've been through enough, you just rest, alright? We'll be at Balamb Garden soon enough."

I trusted Zell, but I wanted to make sure that he would be going towards Garden instead of the missile base. His suggestion of rest seemed too appealing to let go, however. The shock torture had taken everything out of me. I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

I realized that I was in Dollet, and I was looking at the soon-to-die Dollet soldier on the steps to the communications tower. I immediately jumped at the incoming Anacondaur monster and sliced through it before it struck the soldier. I quickly helped him up and walked him into Dollet's town square, where he would be safe from the spider robot. A flash. I heard Galbadian soldiers shouting at someone in the town square, so I ran back to check on the Dollet soldier. When I arrived, the soldier was dead, killed by the G-troops. Flash. I was standing in front of the self-destruct button in the Galbadian missile base. I disabled the soldier hiding in the shadows behind me and set the destruct timer for ten minutes. Flash. I was out of the blast radius of the missile base, dashing away from it. I heard a dozen missiles fire out of their pods behind me as they headed north towards Trabia. I fell to my knees and saw the base explode seconds afterwards. A large, sharp piece of debris flew from the explosion in my direction and hit me through my chest. Flash. I had delivered the final blow to Edea in Galbadia Garden's auditorium. She fell to the ground, a large array of light escaped from her and into Rinoa. Rinoa walked in a trance towards Seifer's knocked out body. I ran up to her to try and stop her, but flew back several feet when I touched her. She whispered something to Seifer, and he got up and walked off. I shouted with all my voice trying to get Rinoa to snap out of it, but she fell to the ground, cold and unmoving. Flash. I was in space, trying to catch Rinoa. The glass on her spacesuit helmet shattered before I could reach her. I yelled in agony and disbelief, watching Rinoa's body drift lifelessly away from me.

I woke up out of breath, my heart beating like a drum roll, sweat all over my body. Zell was gazing at me in his rear-view mirror, still driving north. Quistis looked at me with a face overcome by worry, her hand to my chest, easing me back to reality.

"Squall, are you okay? Were you having a nightmare? You were screaming." Quistis asked in a calm voice.

I hadn't realized that my screams had bled through the lines of dreams into reality. I caught my breath and responded, "…Yeah, it was a nightmare…that's all. Thanks."

Quistis still looked worriedly at me, with good cause, I suppose. She asked me again, "…Are you sure you're alright? What happened in the nightmare?"

It wasn't her problem, it was mine, so I said, "Don't worry about it. I appreciate your concern, though."

After driving for awhile, Quistis' expression changed slightly, yet obviously, to what looked like anxiety. She looked quite nervous while she spoke, "Umm, Squall, I need to tell you something."

I thought for a moment, but couldn't imagine what she could want to tell me. I was curious; I had not experienced ignorance in days. Quistis' hands were rubbing together quickly, obviously nervous about what she was about to say, "…you see, lately I…umm, I mean…I don't know why, but recently…it's just that…when you…umm, I've felt…"

"Quistis, what are you trying to tell me? You can tell me anything, so just let it out. I trust you, and I hope you trust me, so go ahead."

"I…" Quistis took a long pause, apparently thinking about what she would say, then said, "…It scared me when I found you in that torture room. Just seeing you hanging there, then not responding to my revive spell scared me to death. That's all."

I wasn't the expert on human emotions, but I knew that she wanted to tell me something else instead. I couldn't imagine what, though. All I could do was continue her conversation, "Thank you Quistis…for saving me. I thought I was going to die there."

Nobody said much else on the way to Timber, which took us an hour to get to. We parked about a half-mile away from Timber and walked the rest of the way to avoid the Galbadian troops' suspicions. All six of us snuck aboard the train leaving for Balamb and we arrived in about a half hour. It was a long walk to Balamb Garden, but we managed to get there in less than an hour, plenty of time before the missiles were due for their visit.

When we approached the entrance, I instructed everyone to prepare for battle. They all looked at me confusedly, with good cause; it didn't make much sense to be armed for school, after all. After a brief pause, they shrugged and pulled out their weapons, made sure that they had GFs junctioned, and we entered the battleground. Monsters from the training center were loose and terrorizing the students, people were running every which way, Garden Faculty members were yelling at everyone, then Raijin and Fujin noticed us.

"Hey, you're back!" Raijin exclaimed.

Zell retorted, "What's going on here?"

"I dunno. At first, they were sayin' somethin' about roundin' up the SeeDs, ya know!? Now, everyone's either sidin' with the Garden Master or the headmaster and fightin' everywhere, ya know!?"

"DISTURBING." Fujin mentioned in the loud, monotonous way she spoke, which was very familiar to all of us.

"Disappointin' for the disciplinary committee. All our work for nothin' ya know!?"

I had no time to mess around with Raijin and Fujin, so I excused myself, "Tough luck, but we've got to find the headmaster."

"Hah! Good luck, ya know!" Raijin shouted at us as we scurried off.

As I led the group through the Garden, a curious Selphie walked alongside me and questioned, "Okay, so where are we going? You said we're looking for Cid?"

"Yeah, I say we try his office first. That's the last place anyone would think of looking." I responded.

Before, I had wandered around the Garden, fighting monsters and protecting students. This time, I knew where Cid was, but I felt that the students still needed to be protected. I formulated a plan as we all headed up the stairs towards the central elevator.

When we reached the elevator, I gave instructions to the group, "Alright, since only three of us will fit in the elevator, I say that three of us go to Cid's office while the other three stay down here to protect students and SeeDs."

Irvine inquired, "Sounds good, but who's going with who?"

I had to pick the three strongest to fight and protect Garden students, so I chose, "Irvine, Zell, and Quistis will stay down here, while Rinoa, Selphie, and myself will go talk to Cid."

Everyone seemed to think of me as some kind of a leader, so everyone obeyed my instructions with a nod and we all went our separate ways. Rinoa and Selphie were strong fighters, but I guess I felt that they needed to be protected more than the others. Also, I wanted Rinoa by my side whenever possible.

Xu was waiting for us when we exited the elevator, apparently waiting for the lift to come up. I knew that Xu was going to the first floor to find us; she probably hadn't expected us to come to her. "Hello Xu, is the headmaster around?"

Xu stared in disbelief for a moment, seeing as I had been missing for days and I had just waltzed into Cid's office. She eventually answered, "Umm, yes, right this way Squall."

Cid was also quite surprised to see me, so I saluted and spoke before he could, "Sir, Galbadian missiles are headed this way. I suggest that we attempt to reactivate the emergency mechanism in the basement of this Garden. I believe you have the key; may I take it?"

I had done that on purpose; the looks on everyone's faces were worth the questions I would receive later on regarding how I knew about Balamb Gardens' emergency fallout system. Cid had his mouth agape, but apparently not able to think of anything to say, he pulled the elevator key out of his pocket and I took it out of his hand without a word. After saluting him, I turned and entered the elevator. Rinoa and Selphie remained in the office, looking at me with baffled expressions frozen in their faces.

"Coming?" I asked the unmoving Rinoa and Selphie.

They shook away their puzzlement and ran to meet me in the elevator. I put the key in the slot, turned, and the elevator headed for the basement. The two were still staring at me, so many questions running through their minds. I simply made up something, "I heard about it from an old man who helped construct this place a long time ago."

"Ohhh…well I guess that makes sense. I was wondering what the heck you were talking about!" Selphie responded.

The elevator came to a stop, and I acted, "Uh oh, the elevator stopped. I guess we'll have to wait for it to get going again."

I wasn't about to leave the elevator only to have it move in a couple minutes. Besides, we were ahead of schedule, so there was no danger of the missiles surprising us. While we waited, I talked to Rinoa, "Hey Rinoa…what happened in Deling City?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard from Quistis and Zell that you attempted to do some heroics and ended up being attacked by two Iguions…"

Rinoa bit her lip nervously and looked away, "…Yeah well, it was justified! I wanted to get revenge on Deling for what he did!"

I assumed that she meant Deling's choice to attack Garden, so I continued, "You didn't take my advice? I told you to stay out of trouble and not to be a hero…but you did anyways…I mean, you could've been killed!!"

"I'm sorry…I should've listened to you…but you know, I still don't get how you could've known that my life could've been in danger…how did you know?"

I'd wanted to hold off on my explanation of how I seemed to be able to predict the future, so I changed the subject back to where we had started it, "Listen, I was just worried." _I was terrified…_ "But I guess it's alright since you're okay now. You were lucky that Quistis and Irvine were there to help you." _I was worried that they would be hurt too…_ "But now I'm here, and I'll protect you." _Always…_

Rinoa gave a shy smile and looked away, as if I had embarrassed her. The elevator waited until our conversation was over, then hummed back to life. I didn't know where the elevator would lead exactly, but luckily, it opened to the room with the control panel I was looking for. I approached the panel and tried to remember what I'd done to start up the machinery last time. _Wait, did I press a bunch of random buttons or did I just press one? Damn, I knew I should've learned how to use this thing before. I guess I'll just try this shiny red button in the middle here…_

The button was pressed, and after nothing happened, I pressed it again. The gears above us sparked and rotated and roared to life as the platform we were standing on began to move upwards. I told everyone to hang on as we ascended towards the ceiling. I still can't explain how we went through the roof without us breaking through the floor, but we somehow we appeared in Cid's room, picking up Cid on the way. There was now a second floor to Cid's office and we were on it, watching the skies for flying bombs.

All of us watched in amazement as the floating ring above Balamb Garden descended to the base of the structure. The Garden lifted up and out of the ground due to the hovering capabilities of the giant floating ring. I had seen it before, but it really was quite spectacular to view, until Rinoa shouted something, that is.

"NO!!"

"M…missiles incoming!?" I shouted in fear and confusion. _Why are they here already? We were far ahead of schedule!_

The Garden began to move westward, towards the town of Balamb, just before the missiles slammed into the ground that the Garden had just been planted on. We were far enough from the explosion so that we didn't sustain any damage, but the force exerted by the blast caused us to speed faster towards Balamb.

"I see, so this is the secret…" Cid finally spoke.

"Hey, lets go check out what's going on outside!" Selphie suggested.

"Sure, in a second…" I responded.

I stared at the control panel and wondered what I had pressed before that caused the Garden to turn left. _Hmm…what are the odds that I'll press the exact same buttons as last time? Very slim…Damn, where's Nida when you need him!? Okay, just press whatever, that's all I can do._ I pressed countless random buttons on the panel, and somehow, the Garden edged left out to sea and away from the lucky citizens of Balamb.

"Squall! What are you doing! We're headed out to sea!!" Cid exclaimed.

"Sir, we were headed towards Balamb. I just took the best course of action. I think you'll agree with me that it was a good choice. Besides, I'm sure this thing will float." I responded calmly.

"Hey, good going Squall!" Selphie complimented.

"Yeah, quick thinking!" Rinoa told me.

"Okay, so I guess we'll drift along for the time being...until we figure out how to maneuver the Garden. Unless you know how, Squall?" I shook my head no. "Okay, so it looks like we can finally relax for a while. And spend some time considering what to do next. So much for my room. Where am I going to change now?"


	13. Chapter 13

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 13

I laid in bed and thought, _Alright, what's going to happen now? We'll float along until sometime tomorrow morning, so that leaves me with the rest of today to spend here in Balamb Garden. Oh right, I would like to avoid crashing into Fisherman's Horizon if possible, but I have no idea about how to control Garden. We don't learn the controls until…Fisherman's Horizon. Damn…I suppose it can't be avoided. Let's see, pretty soon here, I'll have to meet with Master NORG and possibly fight him. I better bring Quistis and Selphie with me just in case we need to fight; powerful magic users will do well against him. I wonder where everyone is right now. Quistis, Zell, and Selphie weren't here last time around, they were at the missile base, so I have no idea where they could be. I better go find them._

I walked out of my dorm and thought about where my friends could be. I then saw Selphie and Rinoa walking towards me.

"Hey Squall! Whatcha up to?" Selphie exclaimed.

"Oh hi, I was just looking for Quistis. Have either of you seen her?" I asked the two.

"I think I saw her and the others hanging out in the cafeteria." Rinoa responded.

"Oh okay, thanks."

As I began to walk towards the cafeteria, Selphie stopped me, "Hey wait! We're just kinda giving each other a tour, and we could kinda use a tour guide. Umm…could you show us around? We really don't know where anything is and it looks like we're gonna be here for awhile, ya know?"

"Sorry, I've got important things to do. Maybe later, okay? Oh, and Selphie, I need to borrow you for something. Can you come with me?"

"Nope, not without giving us a tour first!" Selphie responded playfully.

"It's very important, I really need your help…" I wasn't convincing her, so I sighed then said, "Fine, I'll give you two a tour afterwards."

Selphie happily agreed and all three of us walked to the cafeteria. When we arrived, Quistis, Zell, and Irvine were at a table, eating and chatting with one another. I approached them and said, "Hey everyone, what's going on?"

"Hey Squall! We were just talking about your uncanny ability to predict things. You wanna join the conversation? You know, shed some light on the subject?" Zell questioned.

"Uhm, later. Quistis, I need your assistance with something important, if I may."

"Sure Squall, I'll be happy to go with you." Quistis agreed.

Selphie, Quistis, and I walked out of the cafeteria and were approached by a Garden faculty member. "Instructor Quistis Trepe? The Garden Master wishes to see you. Report to the Master's Room right away."

"Oh, sorry Squall, but I better deal with this right now." Quistis told me.

I replied, "It's alright, we'll come with you. I'm sure it will be fine if we come along."

The elevator stopped on the secret bottom floor and all three of us exited and observed our surroundings. A very large dome-like room that was quite dark and had bright vertical lines along the walls with the elevator in the center welcomed us. Quistis led Selphie and I forward to the sound of Cid shouting as he was pushed back by Garden faculty members.

"Please! Listen to me! Let go of me! I'm not finished!" Cid yelled.

I put myself between Cid and the Garden Faculty and spoke to the pusher in the most intense tone I could conjure up, "Leave him alone. Unless you would like to push me around, you're not going to lay another finger on him."

"Better step away, this doesn't concern you." The faculty member replied.

"Sure, but I can't have you doing this to Cid, alright? So why don't you back off…"

The man inched back a few steps, obviously intimidated by me. His gaze turned to Quistis and Selphie, "Ahem, you are the SeeDs who returned from Galbadia, correct?" Quistis nodded. "Master NORG has been waiting for you. Come."

As I walked away, Cid said to me, "Squall…why did you stick up for me just then?"

I turned and spoke to him as I walked, "Because you did nothing wrong."

As Quistis, Selphie, and I followed the faculty to the large mechanical structure NORG was encased in, I whispered to them, "Make sure you're prepared to fight."

Everyone seemed to trust my warnings and suggestions, seeing as I was always accurate when I told them. Quistis and Selphie nodded in acknowledgement as we stood before NORG and his two faculty members. NORG revealed himself and began talking to Quistis instead of me. Many of the same words that were spoken to me were then spoken to Quistis. _She was the leader of the assassination mission, not me, so I guess it makes sense._

Quistis asked the questions that had been running through my head when I was in her place while I simply stood and thought about the possible upcoming battle. I began to contemplate a plan to defeat NORG, looking around at my surroundings, considering the enemy's few weaknesses, taking into account that our opponent was immobile and other important factors.

"Bushurururu...NOW-I-UNDERSTAND. CID-AND-EDEA-ARE-TRYING-TO-TAKE-GARDEN-AWAY-FROM-ME. YOU'RE-ONE-OF-CID'S-FOLLOWERS-AREN'T-YOU!? PREPARE-TO-DIE!" NORG shouted as his mechanical contraption closed, protecting him from any outside attacks.

Selphie and Quistis drew their weapons and prepared for battle. I ran to where the mass of cables and wires were connected to NORG's dome. I drew my blade and sliced through each of them systematically until I hit the oxygen tube leading into NORG's entrapment. Air escaped at a rapid rate as the tube scurried and hissed loudly away like a snake. NORG opened his protective shield in response to the lack of air inside his confinery and prepared to attack.

Quistis and Selphie gave me a quick look that said 'good thinking' as I ordered, "Quick! Attack NORG with magic!"

Powerful magic slammed into NORG's body repeatedly, not giving him a chance to attack. A large enemy such as he absorbed a massive amount of damage before finally collapsing in defeat. After our flawless victory, Quistis wondered aloud, "What was he talking about? Was what he said true?"

I confirmed, "Everything that NORG said was true. I think you should talk to Cid about it. It looks like he's gone up. Try the infirmary; I'd go with you, but I've got something important to do."

"Wait Squall, wasn't there something you needed us for?" Selphie asked.

I looked back at NORG's lifeless body resting eternally inside his protective dome and responded, "Don't worry about it, it's taken care of."

As I returned to the first floor and headed towards the library, I thought, _Okay, the White SeeD ship should be here soon to pick up Ellone. I need to talk to her before they get here._

-----------------------

I had hoped that the missile strike would not have happened, that Squall had succeeded in his personal mission to prevent it from ever occurring, but he had obviously failed, seeing as Balamb Garden was nearly destroyed by missiles. I tried my best to read as I sat there in the library, but I kept thinking about Squall. _If he failed to stop the strike, then what does that mean? Did Galbadian troops capture him? Oh God, I sure hope he didn't…no, don't think about it…_

When Squall came and sat in the chair next to me, I had to take a moment to make sure that he was actually there. His eyes showed that he had suffered much, both emotionally and physically. Even though I wanted to smile at the sight of him alive and well, I knew that he must have felt terrible then. He would be thinking about how he failed to protect the many lives at Trabia Garden, and he would probably blame himself.

All I could say was, "I'm so sorry Squall…" as I reached out and hugged him.

I hadn't hugged Squall in a very long time, not since the days at the orphanage, but I knew that he would appreciate my gesture. The hug receded and Squall said, "I couldn't protect them…I did everything I possibly could to try and stop that launch, but I couldn't change anything."

"I know that you tried your hardest to save those people, but maybe…it was meant to happen. I've been thinking ever since Garden started moving, about the future. Perhaps some things can't be changed, that all things happen for a reason."

"But you said that I should do whatever I could to try and change things for the better."

"Even if there's a possibility, it's worth a try, right?"

Squall thought about it for a second, then said, "I'm done trying. I'm done doubting my abilities; I can change nothing. I will have to watch terrible events unfold as I suffer through them."

"But you don't know for sure. I'm sure that some things have happened differently this time from last time, right? If some small things can change, then why not some important things? Until you find out for sure that there's nothing you can do, don't give up."

Squall brought his head up to look at me, "…maybe you're right…Listen, there's not much time. I have to ask you, why did you send me to the 'dream world' earlier?"

I knew that he would eventually bring that question up. "I had to see something that you didn't tell me when we were on the ship. That was the point when everything went wrong. I'm sorry I had to use you, but I just needed to try and change things."

Squall gave a half smile, "Hmph, looks like we're both trying to change things, and failing."

He had a point, but I wondered why he asked me about the dream world. There seemed to be some ulterior meaning rooted to his question. "Squall, why did you ask me about the dream world?"

Squall turned his head down and looked away before he said softly, "…You saved my life…At the time, I wished that you hadn't…"

"I'm not going to say that I'm sorry. I still believe that you have a great importance in life. Your knowledge can help others, and I know that if I were in your place, I would never give up."

A dark-haired woman in a SeeD uniform walked into the library and said, "Umm, Squall? You wouldn't happen to know someone named Ellone, would you? Some people are asking for her and I thought I should ask you."

I stood up. "Umm…I'm Ellone."

Squall stood up and walked with me and the dark-haired woman to the second floor deck. Three White SeeDs and their ship waited for me when we arrived. I turned to Squall and said, "I believe that you have a mission in life, that this 'repeating time' was not just an accident. Even if it was an accident, you can still use your ability to make things better in the world. If you won't change things for other people's happiness, then at least change it for yours…"

-----------------------

Ellone climbed aboard the White SeeD ship and sailed off into the evening sunset. Her departing words rippled in my mind just as the pinks, purples, and yellows in the sky rippled across the ocean. She had been right in all respects. There was always a chance that something dramatically different could happen because of my actions. After all, nothing could stop me from jumping into the water and chase after Ellone then; it would be pointless, but different nonetheless.

Rinoa came up next to me and watched the waters, an aura of warmth and comfort resonating from her gorgeous form. She spoke softly, "A friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

"A…girlfriend?"

There was something suspicious in her tone, more than just general wonderment. "No, a good friend."

"Oh…" Rinoa said, a note of relief and delight obvious even in such a small sound.

_If not for others, then for yourself…_ "Rinoa, how would you like a tour of Garden?…Just you and me."

-----------------------

Was he serious? Just me and Squall, on a tour of Garden? It definitely sounded like more than a favor, it definitely sounded like some kind of a date. After the assignment in Deling City, my feelings for Seifer completely went away. I found out that I never did love him, that his dark side overshadowed his good side by far. Seifer sided with the sorceress, who was the one that fired missiles at Garden, which made him our enemy.

During the car ride from the desert prison, I had a long chat with Selphie, and she mentioned that Squall seemed to be talking to me more than anyone else. It was her opinion that he had a crush on me. I had no idea that he liked me, but when I thought about it, I started to develop some major feelings for him. He was a nice guy, but he was strong, and a good dancer to boot. Yet, there was that strangeness in him that everyone noticed but nobody could figure out. I thought it would be nice to be the person that Squall could confide in, the one person that he would trust enough to tell his secrets to. Thinking about it that way, I had decided to try and get to know Squall. But before I could even start, he asks me out on a date.

"Yes! Let's do it! When?" I answered cheerfully.

"How about right now?"

"Cool!"

The tour was amazing, not necessarily finding out information on Balamb Garden, but just being with Squall was wonderful. We talked so fluidly, no breaks in the conversations, no awkward silences, no huge disagreements. He had led quite an interesting life, but there was something that he wasn't telling me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was some point in his life that he omitted. I desperately wanted to find out what it was, and I wanted him to tell me, so that I would be the one that he confided in. I was so surprised about how I felt then, that I had warmed up to him so quickly. It was strange, no other person had ever had that effect on me.

-----------------------

I had finished talking to Cid about NORG and finding out the truth about everything. It was quite surprising to learn that Cid and Edea were married, and the truth about SeeD, that we were soldiers dispatched from Garden to defeat the sorceress. It was a lot of information to take in, but once Cid had told me everything I wanted to know, I decided to leave and find Squall. I felt that it was time to tell Squall about my feelings for him, once and for all, not going to trip up, no matter what, telling Squall that I liked him.

I found Irvine walking around with Zell when I left the infirmary, so I decided to ask them, "Have either of you seen Squall around?"

Zell responded, "Yeah, I saw him and Rinoa going to the ballroom. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea what they're doing in there. Frankly, I don't wanna know."

Zell's comment did not make me laugh, it only made my heart flutter for a moment at the thought of Squall being with someone else. I had almost told Squall the truth about my feelings for him while we were riding from the desert prison to Balamb, but I lost my nerve, and I don't know why. I always was the nervous type when it came to men I liked, but I knew Squall fairly well, so I thought that it may be different. Yet, I couldn't tell him, and every waking moment that he didn't know how I felt, my feelings for him grew. It had gotten to the point where I just couldn't stand it anymore. I was going to tell him, and I wouldn't care what he said in response to my statement. _Oh…what if he likes me too? It's definitely worth a shot._ As I walked quickly towards the ballroom, I thought about what I would say to him. _Squall, I think I'm in love with you. Goodbye!…Umm, no, terrible…I kind of like you, Squall. Let's give it a try…No, but that's a little better…Listen Squall, lately I've been getting these vibes from you, and I was wondering if you liked me?…No, that's much worse…Oh boy, this won't be pretty._

I eventually arrived at the ballroom, which was unoccupied at the time. All of the lights were off and the huge room was lit only by the beautiful moonlight through the glass ceiling above. _Well, I couldn't ask for a better place to tell him._ I looked throughout the room quietly, then found Squall and Rinoa on the balcony. When I saw them together, the two were standing close to each other, leaning over the balcony, incoherent words escaping their smiling faces. I didn't want to believe it, but they were obviously on a date. Selphie's suspicions had been correct; Squall was clearly romantically interested in Rinoa. My heart sank as I silently walked out of the ballroom without Squall ever noticing me.

-----------------------

We had taken a wonderfully long walk around the Garden which ended up taking all night. I had lost count of the amount of times we traversed the sizeable Garden, but I was more concentrated on Rinoa. She opened up to me, and I did the same with her, like we had never done before. After Rinoa mentioned that she was bored of simply wandering around Garden, we ended up in the ballroom, where we had first met. There were no shooting stars out that night, but just watching the sky while talking was more than enough for me.

After the date was over, I walked back to my room with an unmovable grin plastered to my face. _Not bad for a first date._ I simply couldn't believe that something good could come out of my 'repeating time' journey. I couldn't ask for a better way to change my luck around; a long walk with Rinoa around the Garden was a full remedy for my attitude towards my experience. We had never actually talked about regular things on the first time through my quest, but after the date, I found out so much more about her. I didn't think that anything could surprise me, but learning about Rinoa's past, her dreams, her feelings, I felt like we connected amazingly that night. I talked to her about my past, mainly my life at the Garden and stories revolving around it and the people therein. I wanted to tell her everything, about how I'd gone through this adventure before, but I decided against it for the time being. She probably would not be able to accept such an odd story, so I figured that telling her at a later time would be a good idea.

-----------------------

I awoke, looked at the clock, cursed myself for sleeping in, then quickly ran towards Cid's office. When I reached the elevator, Cid made an announcement regarding the intercom being fixed. I knew that the Garden would be crashing into Fisherman's Horizon by the end of his transmission. I had been too late to stop it, but it was inevitable anyways. Nobody onboard Balamb Garden knew how to work the brakes, but we would learn once we literally hit Fisherman's Horizon.


	14. Chapter 14

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 14

"Squall! Good timing, I was about to call you on the intercom. Thank goodness you're here, we've landed on Fisherman's Horizon. I want you to go into town, find the local mayor and apologize for this accident. Tell them that we come in peace. Take a look around the city while you're there, too." Cid ordered me.

"Okay, but may I use the intercom for a moment?" I asked the headmaster.

"Oh sure, we just got it fixed."

I instructed that Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and Irvine meet me at the second floor deck. I figured that the town could benefit from as many warriors to fight back the Galbadian forces that would arrive soon after we entered town. I walked towards the elevator when Cid stopped me.

"Squall, where were you the day after you became a SeeD? Quistis said that you ran off with some girl and a couple of White SeeDs. Where did you go after that? I only ask because you were assigned an important mission that day."

I had hoped that Cid wouldn't have asked me where I had been that day. I couldn't possibly tell him the truth, he may not have understood my reason to go. I had prepared an excuse, however, that I thought was quite plausible, "I felt that I needed some more training, and the White SeeDs saw me fight the Granaldo, so they took me somewhere to help my fighting skills. They were excellent fighters, and I think that I made the best choice in going with them."

Cid paused then said, "…I suppose you made the correct choice, and after all, you didn't know that you had a mission the next day. Okay, that's all…oh, and thank you for helping me out in the basement yesterday. I see good things in your future, Squall."

I saluted then descended the elevator to the second floor. When I arrived at the deck, all of my friends were waiting for me, having general conversations until I approached them. "Okay everyone, we've hit Fisherman's Horizon, or just FH for short. Let's check out the town first, then I'll find the mayor and apologize for Balamb Garden. Sound good?"

Everyone agreed, then Zell asked, "Great idea, I'd love to get out of Garden for awhile, but why did you bring us all up here?"

"We don't all hang out as much as we should, and I figured this would be a good opportunity, you know?" I lied to the group, not telling them that I mainly brought them for their muscle.

"It's cool, it's cool. Just asking." Zell responded.

As we walked along the struts leading into FH, I talked to Selphie. I was curious as to what she had been doing since we arrived at Garden, seeing as she hadn't been around previously. "So what've you been up to lately?"

"Just wandering around Garden, ya know. Oh, by the way, I don't need a tour anymore, I showed myself around."

I figured that Selphie would mention that, "Umm…well you see, I was going to, but I kinda…"

Selphie cut me off, "Don't worry about it!" She lowered her voice so that Rinoa couldn't hear us. "I heard that you and Rinoa had some sort of…date last night? I hear that it was your idea…what's going on there?"

I blushed, "Ah, well, I dunno…okay, so maybe I have a thing for Rinoa. I'm sure you've already figured that out, though. So what if we did have a date last night?…Did Rinoa talk to you about it or what?"

"She said that she-"

A FH representative approached us and interrupted, "We've come to warn you before you go ashore. Do not engage in any type of armed conflict in the city. We do not tolerate belligerence here. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir, we are representatives from Balamb Garden and we come in peace. I believe the mayor is in the center of town. We will talk to him immediately." I responded in a professional manner.

Selphie let everyone else move forward so that her and I could continue our conversation out of Rinoa's earshot. "Rinoa said…she had a really good time with you last night. I couldn't get much else out of her, she seemed deliriously happy."

That was exactly what I had wanted to hear, so I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and a huge grin. Rinoa and I were off to a great start; finally something was going my way. _So far, so good._

When the six of us reached the path to the mayor's house, I informed them, "Hey, why don't we check out the town first? I need to stock up on some supplies."

The group agreed and we headed to the right towards the shops and stores of FH. My intention was to visit the local weapons shop to upgrade my current weapon. I had located the correct items and had saved up enough money to advance my Revolver to the more powerful Cutting Trigger. I strayed from the group and walked into the upgrade shop. The weaponsmith there was one of the more skilled smiths that I would encounter on my journey, so my gunblade was upgraded within minutes after my arrival. The blade felt heavier in my hands, but the firing mechanism had been boosted with more strength and the edge was much finer than the Revolver's had been.

I located everyone and told them my plan of action. "I'm going to the mayor's house to give an apology and ask for repair assistance to the Garden. Keep your eyes out for any Galbadian soldiers. If you see any, subdue them and try to keep the town safe."

Everybody paused, then nodded in agreement. It surprised me at how everyone trusted my warnings without question, how strange it must have seemed to be looking out for Galbadian soldiers in a peaceful town like FH. Yet, nobody ever questioned my suggestions.

I walked down the long downward sloping isle into the center of town. The mayor's house was two stories high and was as plainly constructed as the rest of the town; most likely a monument to the equality treated to the people of FH. I walked inside and up the stairs to meet Mayor Dobe.

Before he could speak, I approached him and said, "Hello, I am here on behalf of Balamb Garden. We come in peace and I must apologize for crashing into your town; it was a complete accident and would have been prevented if it had been possible. We learned only recently that the Garden was mobile and we have not learned how to maneuver it or work the machinery. If your technicians could lend us a hand with fixing the Garden, we will leave your town as soon as possible."

I had said everything that needed to be said, so Dobe didn't have much to say. "Okay, I will have some technicians help you out shortly. After repairs are complete, I would like you to leave."

"Understood sir, and once again, I apologize on behalf of Balamb Garden."

I walked down the steps and out of the mayor's house intending to get back to town to help the others fight the Galbadians. As I sprinted up the long path into town, I thought about FH's way of life. They opposed all forms of violence, they used words to solve their problems, not weapons. Humans were born with the ability to think and have opinions, which meant that other humans would have different opinions, which meant that humans must defend their beliefs, which therefore led to violence. FH believed that a problem could be worked out with discussion while everyone else in the world destroyed each other to get things done. I wasn't any different, however. I couldn't simply walk up to a soldier and ask them to put down their weapons. I would have to fight, and possibly kill other human beings for the greater cause.

I reached the top of the isle to find a SAM08G robot spying me from about twenty feet to my right. SAM08G robots carried 155mm micro-missile cannons on their shoulders, a vulcan cannon built into their mouths, and sharpened claws on their cold steel hands, more than enough to kill anything that moved. When their target was spotted, the merciless killing machines would attack relentlessly until their opponent fell. Unfortunately, I was the one targeted for termination. _Damn, if I had been here a minute later, it probably wouldn't be there…_ I was left with no choice but to fight.

I drew my newly-forged Cutting Trigger and got into my fighting stance. The machine began the fight with a barrage of micro-missiles launched from its shoulders. I immediately reacted and ran to my left as the bombs slammed into the metal ground behind me. The missiles stopped and were quickly followed by the SAM08G opening its jaws wide, the vulcan cannon in its mouth readied to fire. Bullets flew inches above my head as I rolled on my side towards my machine opponent. When I got too close to the SAM08G for the cannon to aim downwards at me, the deafening shots ceased and I stabbed the beast in the torso. The Cutting Trigger had no problem penetrating the steel armor, its razor-tip made to do such damage. I slid the blade out and the next few moments came quite fast. The machine attempted to claw at me while I rolled around on the ground rapidly left and right, slashing at it whenever I found an opening. The robot could not catch up with my evasive maneuvers and could only scratch the ground around me. It finally became impatient and stepped back to reveal its vulcan cannon. I reacted in a flash and slashed right through the barrel of the cannon. Sparks flew from the enemy's mouth and I casted a Thundara spell to finish the battle off.

The SAM08G, at a loss of energy to continue fighting any longer, fell to the ground and stopped moving. I caught my breath and stood up. I observed that the floor I had been laying on had been carved up beyond comprehension. I felt my body for any damage, and could not find any wounds at all. _Not one scratch, hah! Not bad, Squall, not bad at all._ I observed Mayor Dobe walking off into the distance most likely negotiate with one of the Galbadian military officers. I had been too busy fighting to stop the mayor from going, so I ran after him as fast I could.

I managed to avoid any battles with G-troops or mechanized killing machines, noting that there were several demolished robots and a few motionless soldiers strewn about the streets. Selphie, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, and Rinoa had most likely been the ones responsible for the absence of enemies. I hadn't realized that they were such strong soldiers until I noticed their handiwork. I passed by Irvine, Rinoa, and Quistis who were busying themselves with a SAM08G robot. I would've stopped to help them, but I had to catch the mayor; besides, they could obviously take care of themselves.

I arrived at a fairly large open space that joined the street where I encountered Zell and Selphie fighting Galbadian soldiers. Mayor Dobe stood a safe distance away from the battleground as he gazed on in silent shame. A blue soldier lay unmoving on the cement near the fighters; either Zell or Selphie had defeated the him. I ran to try and help the two, but Selphie quickly swung her nunchaku into the side of the other blue soldier's head, knocking him out cold. Zell did an amazing backflip kick on the red Galbadian commander, slamming his foot into the man's jaw as he soared to the ground unconscious.

I ran to them and asked, "Are you two alright?"

Zell responded, "Us, we'll pull through. Them, not so much."

I approached Mayor Dobe and asked him the same question. He responded, "Physically, I am unhurt."

The Mayor walked away from us, not saying another word. Selphie had to ask, "What do you suppose he meant by that?"

"He means that he's upset about you fighting other people. I know there was no other choice but to fight, but he's sure that all problems can be solved through words. I just wish it were true…" I replied.

Since their commander was taken out, all the Galbadian soldiers had no choice but to retreat from FH. I reported back to Headmaster Cid our situation and that technicians would be allowed inside to fix the Garden.

"Most likely, the sorceress will not stop this onslaught until Ellone is found. She will continue to hunt her, and burn everything in her path. We can't wait any longer." Cid stated.

Cid picked up the microphone to the intercom for the Garden and told everyone that I had been appointed their leader. Before, I had been quite upset that Cid didn't give me any choice in the matter, but this time, I was rather happy to be in control. When, or if, the war against Galbadia Garden occurred, I would make all the right choices and save many more lives. Scorn not being present, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in becoming the leader of Balamb Garden.

Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Zell, and Rinoa had later informed me that they had some things to do on their own that did not involve me. I didn't mind; I decided to observe the technicians as they worked on and figured out the controls to Garden. I was determined not to let ignorance fall upon me in times of need ever again.

--------------------

When I heard the announcement that Squall was our new leader, I was struck with inspiration! Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and I would put on a concert just for Squall and Rinoa! The purpose was two-fold; to congratulate Squall on his promotion, and to give him and Rinoa a little push to get together. _Brilliant, Selphie! If I do say so myself!_

It wasn't an easy task, getting everyone to learn how to play instruments in a few hours, but I knew that we could do it. While we rehearsed and figured out how who should play what instrument, I noticed that Quistis seemed down about the whole idea. I knew what she had been thinking, she still had feelings for Squall, and there she was being forced into a scheme to get him together with someone else. I felt bad for her, but I really just saw Squall and Rinoa as more of a couple than Quistis and Squall. They seemed to be a better match for each other in general. Not only that, but they had already been on a date.

I later talked to Quistis about the whole thing. "Quistis, I know that you still have some feelings for Squall, but I think it's time to let go. Squall likes Rinoa, I've heard from both of them that they like each other. They sorta already went on a date already, too. I'm sorry."

"…But I can't just let my feelings go without telling him how I feel about him. Yes, I know I probably should've told him already before things with him and Rinoa really happened…Oh, I'm such a fool…I could've told him on the way from the prison, then maybe things would be different now..."

Quistis cried in my arms for awhile as I comforted her with my presence. When she finished sobbing, I offered her a choice. "Listen, I'm not going to force you to play tonight. Honestly, I could really use a fourth person in the set, but if you don't feel up to it, you don't have to, okay? I'm going to leave the choice up to you. Just keep in mind that this isn't just a chance for Squall and Rinoa to date, but it's also a congratulations on his promotion. I'm sure he'd really appreciate it if you helped out."

With that, I left her room and prepared for the concert.

-----------------------

I had learned everything about controlling Balamb Garden from the FH technicians and had returned to my room. Quickly, I became bored of lying in bed. I wondered what everyone else was doing, so I left my dorm in search of my friends.

When I walked down the corridor, I noticed Rinoa and Zell at the far end. When they noticed me, Zell ran off and Rinoa waited for me to come to her. Rinoa was wearing her gorgeous white dress that she wore on special occasions. It then occurred to me that the concert was happening that night. I had thought, with my recent streak of bad luck, that there would be no concert and no date with Rinoa.

"Hey, what's up?" Rinoa asked.

I played along. "Just bored. Looking for something to do."

"Great! Let's go to the concert."

Rinoa and I walked all the way to the center of FH where the gigantic stage had been set up. All my friends were there: Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis were on stage with their instruments, preparing to entice me and Rinoa to get together, I assumed. They began playing, and as before, it was not great music. After listening for a few minutes, Rinoa and I walked away to have some privacy.

We sat next to each other on the edge of the platform overlooking the perfect reflection of the clear night sky in the countless mirrors encompassing Fisherman's Horizon. The weather was nothing short of perfection, with a small, steady wind to circulate the flawless air. The music behind us was audible, but not to the point that it was loud; we were able to talk without yelling.

I was nervous about mine and Rinoa's first real date. I didn't expect myself to be nervous with someone I loved so dearly, but I felt that I had to watch my words, careful not to break the perfect evening. When I was nervous, I had a tendency to become silent.

Rinoa spoke first, "So now that you're the leader of Garden, you're gonna be pretty busy, huh? Are we still going to have enough time to go on any more…tours?"

"Of course. I won't let the job get in the way of us spending time together."

"Hee hee, I'm glad…I really enjoyed last night, you know."

Rinoa slipped her hand into mine, which immediately eliminated all nervousness from my body. I hadn't felt her hand in mine for so long, but had thought about it for every moment that we weren't together. It was strange how something so simple as holding hands could bring so much warmth and generate such powerful emotions. I returned her light grip and we sat there in silence, drinking in the moment, savoring it.

Rinoa spoke, "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking…about the future."

"The future? What about the future?"

"About things that will happen, where I'll be at this point next week, what I'll be doing, who I'll be talking to, what my life will be like. It's amazing how things can change so quickly, how the people you meet can have such a profound impact on your life…and you won't even realize it."

"…I think I know what you mean." We turned and our eyes met, a mutual understanding of the subtext in our words. It took a lot out of me not to kiss her at that moment, how wonderful it would have been, our first kiss at the perfect moment, but we turned away, a small, nervous giggle escaping our lips.

"…I think about where you and I will be in the future. I see us…holding hands, just like we are now. I see us walking together, being…truly happy. I see us without a care in the world, just living in the moment…"

"…I see that too…" Her grip tightened and when I returned her grip, we turned to face each other. As I stared at her lovely face under the shining moon, we closed our eyes and kissed. Suddenly, everything had been worth it. My whole hellish adventure, having to endure hardships again and again, failing in every attempt to prevent certain catastrophes; none of it mattered when my lips met Rinoa's. At that point, I knew that I had to tell Rinoa the truth. If I truly loved her, I would have to tell her eventually.

"That's it. Rinoa, I have to tell you something…"

I told her everything, about what had happened before, what I believed was happening to me, everything.

"…I was different, so cold and unfriendly. You changed all that…"

She listened carefully, never saying a word. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking. She could have been thinking that I was joking, or that I was crazy, but I continued anyways.

"…That's why I went to the missile base. But I couldn't stop the strike, just like I couldn't save the Dollet soldier…"

I didn't consider that I could have been ruining any chance with Rinoa by telling her my situation. I tried not to think that she wasn't ready for such intense amount of information.

"…At the end, I loved you. And right now…I love you…"

I didn't know how long it took me to finish the entire story, but it must have been awhile since the concert had stopped. After I had finished, Rinoa took a minute to digest all the information I had given her. I watched the stars while I waited patiently for her to say something.

"…You love me…"

The tone she spoke the three words in implied confusion and wonder. I was sort of hoping it would have been excitement and joy. I replied, "Ever since you first met me."

I didn't think it would take so long to process the information. The silence was terrible, I couldn't stand it. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"…I believe everything you told me…I just need some time to think…"

Thinking was good, as long as she thought about what I said, I would be happy. "Take all the time you need."

I walked her to her room and we said goodnight.

-----------------------

I tried not to look at them, tried to concentrate on playing the piano, taking everything I had not to look down at them from the stage. I couldn't help it, however; my eyes would glance up on their own and see them off in the distance. Luckily, their backs were turned to me and I couldn't tell what they were doing. At least I could've imagined Squall getting angry at Rinoa or something. It was terrible to think such a thing, but I couldn't help it, she was on a date with the man I thought I loved.

After awhile, I noticed them holding hands, which pretty much eliminated the possibility that they weren't getting along. Just when I thought it couldn't have gotten worse, they kissed. I had been too late, I couldn't have possibly asked Squall out after seeing them kiss, after all. I know that I must have messed up on the piano, because everyone else stopped playing soon after I began to lose it, but I didn't care. I started crying on that stage, and didn't stop until I went to sleep that night.

-----------------------

Space again, inside the space station with Selphie, Piet, and Ellone. I watched the immense amount of monsters on the moon begin forming a path to the planet, the Lunar Cry. Flash. I was in front of the room that the unconscious Rinoa was being kept. A soldier came flying out of the door, followed by a Rinoa possessed by Ultimecia. I knew that I couldn't stop her, but I ran to her anyways, only to be pushed back by some unseen force. Flash. I chased after Rinoa in my spacesuit, floating as fast as I could towards her, but she was too far away. The hangar door closed after her and I was unable to follow her. Flash. I watched from the control station, watching Rinoa deactivate the seal to Sorceress Adel's tomb. The Lunar Cry sucked in Adel's pod, Rinoa was launched away from it, out of my sights and control. Flash. I was back on Earth, the escape pod behind me; Selphie, Ellone, and Piet standing next to me…no Rinoa. She was gone, her body floating in space for eternity.

I woke with my body stiff as a board, my heart beating too fast for my body to keep up. I let out a long, shaky breath and came to my senses. It had been a nightmare, just like the other ones had been. I knew what it represented; since I had changed things with Rinoa by kissing her, somehow that meant that other things could change too, like her not being saved from space. I took this dream as a warning, a chance to set things correctly. I couldn't let things happen like last time. I realized that I had tried, and failed, to stop catastrophic events, but this was different, this involved the woman I loved. Love would never forgive me if I gave up.

I dressed and walked to Rinoa's dorm room down the hall from mine. I knocked on her door. She opened the door and I said, "We can't stay here. If this course continues, your life will be in danger. I can't let that happen again."

After a brief hesitation, Rinoa responded, "Where will we go?"

"…To Esthar. It's all the way at the end of the tracks, to the East. It's our only chance."

I figured that Rinoa still needed time to think about all the things I had told her the night before, but I couldn't wait any longer. The longer we waited, the more we dug ourselves into the ill-destined hole. After a look of uncertainty and confusion passed, she replied, "I don't know if I should…"

"…I understand. I'm going in an hour. I don't know what I can achieve without you there…but I'll find something. It's your decision…but I'd really like to have you with me…"

With that said, I walked away. So many things were running through my head; _What do I expect to find in Esthar? Will Rinoa decide to come with me? What will I do if she doesn't? What are the others going to think of my decision?_

Rinoa said to me before I could leave, "Squall, last time…did you and I go to Esthar like this?"

"No, I've just got to try and save you…"

I felt bad for leaving Rinoa in her doorway with such a monumentous decision in her hands, but there was no other way. I walked towards Quistis' classroom intending to ask her to take my place as leader of Garden. I was a responsible person, so I couldn't simply leave Garden without a leader.

When I walked into the nearly empty classroom, Quistis was writing something in a book at her desk. I must have surprised her when I said, "Quistis?"

She gasped and her head jolted around to look at me, her eyes wide open. She immediately closed the book she was writing in and responded, "Oh, hi Squall. What is it?"

"Listen, there's something very important that I need you to do for me. I need you to take my place as leader of Balamb Garden."

She was clearly taken aback by my request. "What? Why? Are you nervous about doing this? Don't be, I'm positive that you'll make a great leader."

"It's not that. See, I'm going away for some time and I don't know when I'll be back. I can't tell you where because you might try to find me."

I seemed to have a habit of making people pause after I said something. "But Squall, why not somebody else? Like Cid. Why me?"

"Cid lacks confidence. I've seen your leadership skills and I know that you'll do just as fine a job as I would have. You must accept, there's no other choice." It was ironic how Quistis was given no say in the matter. "Listen, before I go, I need to tell you some things. You may not understand it, but just listen. If Galbadia Garden attacks Balamb Garden, there are a few measures I need you to take."

I told her to command a certain number of soldiers to stand guard at specific areas of the Garden, while she should heavily defend other specified parts of the structure. I knew that she was confused at why I was telling her those things but knowing Quistis, I figured that she was mentally noting all the information I was giving her.

"Please remember all these things and obey them. Many lives depend on it. Goodbye."

It had been a bit cold to leave on such a note, but I was upset. The nightmare had frightened me beyond comprehension and I was dreading Rinoa's decision. I had to continue, however. I needed to make one more stop, then I would head to Esthar.

-----------------------

"You're going to Esthar? Why? When? You can't poss-"

Squall interrupted, "-Listen headmaster, I'm going. I'm only here to tell you that I've left Quistis in charge of Balamb Garden. You will probably object, but I am confident that she will be a great leader."

I couldn't believe my ears! Squall, our master and commander, was leaving all of us to follow some kind of personal mission. And why he chose Esthar was beyond my knowledge as well. I would've stopped him, I would've done something about it, but he was the leader, after all. There was really nothing I could do but obey his orders.

"…Alright, Quistis will be in charge from now on. But let it be known that I don't like this one bit."

-----------------------

After gathering some supplies, I left Balamb Garden and headed towards the train tracks. I was still unsure about what Rinoa was planning to do, but it looked like she decided not to go with me. _What am I doing? What am I going to do in Esthar? What if there's another way? Although, I don't really see any other way. Edea must be stopped or else she will gain control of all the nations in the world. She is quite capable of doing so, there's no doubting that. If we stop her, then Ultimecia will lose control over Edea and transfer her consciousness to Rinoa. My only chance is to go to Esthar; maybe Laguna can help in some way._

I reached the train tracks and found Rinoa waiting for me there. She had a pack full of what looked like supplies, her Valkyrie weapon hoisted to her arm, and a warm smile on her face. "I've decided to go with you, Squall."


	15. Chapter 15

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 15

I had gathered Irvine, Selphie, and Zell at a table in the Garden cafeteria. I told them everything I knew about the current situation involving Squall. There wasn't much to tell, but there was plenty to discuss.

"So let me get this straight…" Zell stated. "Squall came to your classroom this morning, told you that he was going away somewhere and he tells you that you're taking his place as leader of Balamb Garden."

Zell was dead on. "Yes, that's exactly what happened. Now he's gone." I confirmed.

"Rinoa too. I think they left together." Irvine mentioned.

Rinoa had been missing since Squall had left, so it was quite possible that they had left together. One part of me hoped that she was with Squall, which meant that she was alright and that Squall wouldn't be alone against the dangers of the world. The other part of me hoped that she would show up somewhere in the Garden, which meant that they weren't together, which meant that I still had a chance to get together with Squall. It didn't matter, the situation was beyond my control. There was no use thinking about it.

"Now we don't know that for sure, she may just be around here somewhere, ya know." Selphie responded.

"Doubtful. Let's see, she's been missing since the time Squall left, she didn't answer the announcement that Quistis gave us to meet here, her dorm looks like someone went through and took out a bunch of stuff, and not to mention the success of Squall and Rinoa's date last night, heh heh heh. I mean, they really hit it off, so they could quite possibly-" Zell explained until Selphie jabbed him with her elbow.

"Anyways, what are we going to do now? Are we gonna try and find him or what? I mean, where could he have gone? FH is a harbor town, surrounded by water, the only place he could've gone is either East or West on the train tracks. If we want to look for him, then I think we should do that soon before it's too late to find him." Irvine suggested.

The idea of chasing down Squall went through my thoughts since he had left, but I didn't know where he was going, after all. It was quite possible that he had gone East or West on the train tracks out of FH, but that left me with two very different options. I figured that I could've gotten a couple of people to go East and a couple to go West, but that plan was faulty in several respects. First, Squall had been gone for an hour, which meant that he was far away already. Second, the process would take too long and FH wanted Garden to leave immediately. Thirdly, I had duties as leader of Garden, which unfortunately did not include finding Squall.

"No, we're not going after him. Balamb Garden has to depart from FH as soon as possible." I stated.

"Alright, you're the commander, uh, I mean commanderette." Irvine responded.

I proceeded to the third floor deck where Xu and Nida greeted me. They informed me that the Garden controls were figured and that Nida was the pilot. Cid had already informed the students of Balamb Garden via intercom that I was their new leader. Cid wasn't one to waste time; he announced it very soon after Squall had told him. The students seemed to like me as an instructor, so they were quite comfortable with me in charge. I wasn't too sure if I was comfortable, though. Cid had run me through the duties and responsibilities I was assigned with, but I felt so inexperienced. I wasn't ready for such a burden, but I had no choice. I guess you learn to live with those kinds of things if they're forced upon you.

"Any suggestions on where we should go?" I asked Xu.

"Hey, why don't we go back to Balamb? We don't know what's happened since we left. Besides, Balamb may be Galbadia's next target. It's a harbor town, just like FH."

"Alright, set course for Balamb." I said, attempting to sound authoritative.

"Quistis, were you planning on announcing our departure or should I?" Xu asked.

It hadn't even crossed my mind to announce our departure. Xu knew what to do, where to go. _She'd probably make a better leader than me. Oh Squall, why did you do this to me?_

--------------------------

"Hey Selphie, what's been eating Quistis lately?" Zell asked me.

"She's under a lot of pressure with this whole 'becoming a leader' thing."

"Yeah, but I've noticed her acting different since before she became leader. I think there's something up."

"What do you mean?" Irvine asked Zell.

"Haven't you noticed it? She's never really happy any more. And when she does talk, she sounds like Squall before he changed, all quiet and stuff. She kinda seems to have low self-confidence too."

I knew exactly why Quistis was acting the way she did. She had major romantic feelings for Squall, but he was taken by Rinoa. It was tearing her apart and I couldn't do anything to help her except listen whenever she felt like talking. I didn't want to tell this to Zell and Irvine because it was a very private issue. Sure, I wanted to tell them, to finally have something worth gossiping about, but Quistis trusted me and I wouldn't betray that trust for any amount of gossip.

Men had a hard time figuring out women's emotions, so it was kind of a surprise to me when Zell and Irvine voiced their concerns for Quistis. If her problems were obvious enough to catch two guys' attention, then Quistis' depression must've been really bad, I thought. I had nothing else to do anyways, so I decided to pay Quistis a visit. I figured she was on the third floor deck. As a concerned friend, I made my way up.

When I reached the command room, I asked Quistis if I could have a word with her in private. We descended the elevator to Cid's old office. I said, "So Quistis, how are you doing?"

"I'm kinda stressed, but I'll pull through."

"I meant, how are you doing, Squall-wise?"

"Oh…well, I still have feelings for him, if that's what you mean."

"More feeling or less feeling since last night?"

"…More…"

"Honey, you've gotta let him go. I hate to be the one to tell it to you, but he's literally run off with Rinoa. If I were you, I'd try to forget about him, at least in the romantic sense."

"I'm in love with him!!" Quistis shouted. "I can't just give up that easily!"

It suddenly occurred to me that Quistis had never actually told me why she loved, or at least thought that she loved, Squall. I figured that it was quite an important factor, so I had to ask. "Tell me, why do you love him? Specifically."

Quistis sighed and half-rolled her eyes, as if it was obvious why she loved him. Before she spoke, her face froze, seemingly thinking about my question and not knowing the answer off-hand. I spoke before she answered. "Was there ever any real special moment between you two that you'll never forget? Has he ever told you something that really made your heart sing?"

"Actually, we had a very sweet moment in the training room's 'secret area' on the night I decided to quit being an instructor. He was very supportive of my decision and I found that very sweet…"

I continued to dig. "What else?"

"Well, he's very sweet to his friends, like when Zell accidentally mentioned Balamb Garden during the incident with Vinzer Deling, Squall comforted him. I found that very admirable."

"What else?"

"Isn't that enough? It's hard to find friendly guys that are strong and supportive out there, you know."

_Isn't that the truth? If she were wrong, then no one would be single._ I still couldn't understand why Quistis loved Squall. I sensed that there was something more to her feelings. I had to know, "I still don't get it."

"I'm worried about him, that's for sure. I don't know where he is, he could be in danger as we speak. Also, when he went to the missile base by himself, I was worried like crazy. And when we found him in the torture room, I knew that my feelings were real…"

"You know, it doesn't really sound like you're…romantically interested in him. It actually, to me anyways, sounds more like…I dunno, 'sister-like' feelings for him. I mean, you have known him for a long time, right? You've always protected him and taught him over the years, worried about him, tried to get him to open up. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what you feel."

"…Sister-like feelings? Wha, no, that can't be it…Listen, I've got things to do. Sorry, but we'll talk later or something. Be ready when we get to Balamb, okay?"

I'd done good, I had said something that made her think. The way she suddenly left the room, it was clear that she thought that there might be some truth to the whole 'sister-like' feelings theory. My work was done, I'd started the thought process and she would consider my opinion.

--------------------------

I couldn't believe that Selphie had told me that my feelings for Squall were simply sisterly concerns and not romantic love. Sure, I hadn't decided if I loved Squall or not, but I knew for sure that I wasn't just feeling like his sibling or whatever. I ignored her implication and returned to my post.

It took about half an hour to reach the town of Balamb. We were there to simply see what was happening and if the sorceress had gotten there yet. It was obvious that she was there when we saw that Galbadia Garden was parked next to Balamb. It was quite a shock to see that Galbadia had found out how to move around in such a short amount of time. I couldn't figure out how they discovered that Gardens were mobile, but the fact was that Galbadia Garden had been residing next to Balamb.

After landing Balamb Garden near the town of Balamb, I gathered Irvine, Zell, and Selphie to the front gate. I informed them of our course of action and we approached the town. Normally Balamb was a peaceful, get-to-know-your-neighbors kind of town, but things clearly changed when Galbadia Garden had taken over. Balamb couldn't possibly fight against them; Edea had an entire army under her command and wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. I assumed that what Edea wanted was the takeover of all towns small and large, or even world domination as far as I was concerned.

The entrance to Balamb was blocked by a parked Galbadian vehicle and one guard posted next to it. I approached the lone soldier and stated, "Hello. I am Quistis Trepe, the leader of Balamb Garden, and I would like to speak with whoever is in charge here."

"Sorry lady, I have been instructed not to let anyone in. No exceptions."

"This is an urgent matter, I need to speak to him immediately." I lied; I was improvising my conversation with the soldier. I figured that I would convince the soldier to let us through, then find the commander and go from there. The soldier was hard to convince, however.

"Forget it, now get lost! You're lucky I'm not reporting this to the commander."

I led the other three of my teammates around the corner to discuss the situation. Zell was apparently confused and agitated. "Wait, we're not just giving up, are we!?"

The thought of giving up had crossed my mind, but I kept thinking about what Squall would have done. He would have thought of something; he wouldn't give up so easily. "No, we're not giving up. Balamb is being overrun by the Galbadians; we can't let this continue. Okay, let's come up with a plan to get through."

It didn't take but one minute before Irvine came up with a plan. I had to admit that the plan sounded decent. After making sure that everyone understood what we were doing, Irvine walked towards the guard while the rest of us remained out of sight. We were all close enough so that we could hear everything that was happening.

Irvine said to the guard, "Hey, this is a nice car…"

The soldier replied proudly, "Yeah, they're really expensi-" The sound of glass breaking ended the conversation as Irvine had slammed the butt of his gun into the vehicle's headlight. The soldier shouted, "Hey!! What do you think you're doing!?"

A gunshot was heard as I found out later that Irvine had fired a shot into the front windshield of the car. Irvine came sprinting past us and onwards towards Balamb Garden, shortly followed by the shouting Galbadian soldier. Irvine was faster and had more stamina than the guard, so he made it to Balamb Garden long before the guard ran out of breath and gave up. By the time he came back, Selphie, Zell, and I had casually entered Balamb.

--------------------------

"Rinoa, what made you decide to come with me?"

"After you told me what you told me last night, I started to think…about how everything you said kinda fit. No one ever could figure out how you knew the things you knew. It almost seemed like you knew what was going to happen, and then you tell me that you did know what was going to happen. I couldn't deny it; you had to be telling the truth."

Faithful Rinoa, never doubting me.

"What if I had been lying? I mean, you put your whole life behind you when you chose to come with me. You didn't know what to expect, you didn't know if I was telling you the truth. I mean, it's hard to believe such a strange story."

"…After last night, the way we kissed, I knew that you couldn't have been lying. You'd have to be a really good liar if you could fake that kiss."

On one hand, the love of my life loved me in return; the best feeling a person can ever experience in their life. On the other hand, the known future lay before us, certain to make me and my love suffer. There was always a catch to happiness. For everything good that happens, something equally bad has to happen. The sad, terrible truth.

"Tell me the whole story. I wanna know everything that's happened to you. I mean, who knows, maybe a second opinion will be good for you!"

"It's a long story."

"Look ahead of us; it's gonna be several hours before we reach the end of the tracks. C'mon, please? I really really really really wanna hear it!"

"Good point. Okay, I guess it all started with me and Seifer fighting outside Balamb Garden…"

-----------------------

After wandering all over Balamb and talking to just about everyone and their dog, we'd found the captain. Rajin, one of Seifer's cronies, was the captain of the operation in Balamb. I needed to talk to him, to find out what the Galbadians were doing in Balamb and what their next course of action was. Balamb Garden acted as a sort of rebellion against Galbadia, which meant that we had responsibilities, which included protecting towns such as Balamb from their devious plans.

We chased Rajin to the Balamb Inn, where we were confronted by a couple of soldiers. One of them warned, "Hey, you! Stand back. This could be dangerous! The commander's just about to…"

Rajin's voice was heard from inside the Inn, being yelled at by Fujin, who was apparently the commander of the operation. Rajin, the captain, emerged from the double doors and asked the two soldiers for assistance with taking care of Fujin. He noticed us and shouted, "Wooooow! What are you guys doin' here!?"

Zell had been upset at Rajin invading his hometown. Zell shouted back, "We're here to liberate Balamb, ya know!? ...I mean...uhh... We're here to liberate Balamb!"

Selphie, Zell, and I drew our weapons in preparation of the certain upcoming battle. I attempted to avoid the fight. "Rajin, what are you doing in Balamb? Tell me, what is the sorceress trying to achieve?"

"Hah! I'll never talk, ya know!"

Zell responded loudly, "Alright, then let's do this!"

Zell ran up to the soldier nearest to him and began his attack. Selphie, figuring that the battle had begun, swung her nunchaku at the other Galbadian soldier, which was quickly blocked by his sword. I kept my eye on Rajin, who seemed to have stepped back to watch the fight. He most likely thought that we wouldn't have been able to defeat the soldiers, much less himself.

Zell seemed to be winning the fight with his soldier, while Selphie couldn't land a hit on her opponent. I pulled out my whip and struck the soldier's shin, making him fall to one knee. Selphie immediately slammed her oversized nunchaku into the side of the soldier's head, knocking him to the ground. The still-conscious troop looked up just in time to see a Selphie's weapon hit him in the face, putting him out cold.

We both looked over at Zell, who was spinning his soldier around and then throwing him to the pavement fiercely. Zell turned his furious gaze to Rajin and ran at him, attempting to tackle him. Rajin's reflexes kicked in and he was able to move out of the way and cast a Thundara spell as Zell whizzed past him. A large thunderbolt fell from the sky and struck Zell, making him fall to the ground. Selphie immediately ran to Zell's body while I stepped back to cast a Fira spell. Rajin began running quickly towards me in hopes of stopping my attack, but he was too late; a large plume of fire scorched Rajin, who was amazingly able to continue running at me. Ferocity raging in his eyes, Rajin rushed me and my body fell face-first to the concrete. The skin on my face, hands, and knees scraped against the hot ground as I winced at the horrible pain. I knew that I had to stop concentrating on the pain if I was to heal myself. My mind disconnected the pain and I cast a Cura spell on my injured body.

Feeling for the most part rejuvenated, I stood up with anger swelling inside of me, ready to give Rajin what he had coming to him. In the time it had taken me to cure myself, Zell and Selphie had begun fighting Rajin themselves. Rajin prepared a magic spell but was interrupted by Zell kicking him on the left side of his jaw. The attack caused Rajin to spin around to meet Selphie, who spun her nunchaku into the right side of his jaw, spinning him back to Zell. Rajin surprised Zell with his unbelievably quick thinking by slamming his staff at high speed into Zell's face. Still spinning, Rajin turned and casted a Thundara spell on Selphie.

Rajin was a juggernaut, relentless and unfeeling. His years of being on the disciplinary committee gave him the physical strength of a bison and the reflexes of a cat. He could take damage in battle without withering his performance whatsoever. Yet he, like everyone else on the planet, had a weakness. I had known Rajin for years at Balamb Garden, and I had figured at least one thing out: Rajin had a huge ego, his fatal flaw.

Rajin laughed and shouted at Selphie and Zell as they struggled to get up. "Hahaha!! See, you can never defeat me, ya know!! You have to think quick and show no mercy. You gotta know where your opponents are and what they are doing at all times, ya know."

I uncoiled my whip, wrapped it around Rajin's right leg and pulled as hard as my will allowed. This sent the gloating Rajin to the ground, flat on his face. With much force, I put my foot on the back of his neck, signaling his defeat. Zell and Selphie would have praised me if they hadn't been healing themselves at the moment.

I asked nicely, "What's Galbadia doing in Balamb?"

"You think I'm gonna tell you, instructor?"

Selphie approached and wrapped the chain linking the two sticks of her nunchaku around Rajin's neck, choking him. Selphie spoke menacingly, "Maybe you'll tell me, ya know?"

"Okay, okay!! I'll tell, ya know!" Rajin coughed out. "We're looking for some girl named Ellone. Sorceress Edea is looking all over the world for her. Don't ask me why, because I don't know!!"

I continued to interrogate, "Who does know?"

"I don't know, maybe Fujin knows! Go ask her, she's at the Inn, ya know!"

Of course Fujin was there; whenever Rajin was around, Fujin couldn't have been very far. Fujin was the brains of the group, yet she was just as strong as Rajin and Seifer. Zell angrily ran from us into the Inn.

-----------------------

I had been pissed since I had gotten to Balamb and seen that Galbadia had intruded. I had lived in Balamb for most of my life and had loved it there. I had so many friends there, my Ma lived there, it was my home. Anybody would be angry if their beloved hometown had been taken over my a ruthless government. I ran inside the Inn to see Fujin, the silver-haired, rarely-speaking, one-eyed commander. I had never really cared for Rajin or Fujin since they were so tight with Seifer, my mortal enemy. We had never actually fought, but there was a first time for everything.

I shouted, "So I guess you're the commander! Pack your bags and get the hell outta Balamb!"

Quistis and Selphie had followed me inside and were now standing to both sides of me, ready to fight. The battle looked like it would be easy until Rajin burst through the double doors and stood next to Fujin.

"I'm not gonna let you get away with what you did, ya know."

All five of us stood in our fighting positions, staring each other down, waiting for someone to attack. Rajin began by running up to Quistis with his staff high in the air. I had my sights on Fujin all along, so I sprinted over to her and begun my attack run. I started with a high punch, followed by a low kick, both of which were blocked. I kept attacking quickly, never letting Fujin attack.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Selphie on my right as she twirled her large nunchaku at Fujin. I stopped attacking and ducked under Selphie's attack. Fujin blocked it with her handheld circular spiked Zan weapon. Selphie and I continued to attack, but with no luck; Fujin blocked every one of our attacks perfectly. Eventually, Selphie was slashed across the chest and I was immediately kicked backwards. Fujin quickly casted an Aero spell on me, which caused a sharp, focused wind to take pieces of the floor and hurl them at my body from below at high speed. I attempted to ignore the pain and retained my balance. I was about to run up to Fujin until Rajin's staff met my lungs. He had come from my left, seemingly out of nowhere and had taken my breath. I fell to my knees and coughed for air.

The next time I looked up, Selphie was on the floor to my right and Quistis was to my left, both of them knocked down my the powerful duo. I suddenly felt a strong wind and I quickly realized that Fujin had casted a Tornado spell, a powerful wind magic. The mighty wind caused me and my friends to spin around the room, smashing into the walls and furniture, eventually landing hard on the tile floor. I'd felt like we had lost; we were in a lot of pain and were unable to continue fighting.

That was, until Rajin spoke up. "Hah! You think you're all big and bad, ya know! Trying to tell us to get out of Balamb, telling us how to do our jobs, ya know! Hahahahaha!! Ya know what? I think we should stay here a little longer, oh and Zell, doesn't your Mom live here somewhere?"

Rajin's words angered me more than I could've imagined. He wanted to stay in Balamb and he was threatening my Ma. I had lost against Rajin because of my blind anger. I hadn't thought things through and Rajin took advantage of my rage. I figured then that I should've learned from my mistakes, but it was hard to quiet the urge to get Rajin for what he had said.

The pain seemed to wash away and I stood up. I began walking towards Rajin, trying not to think things through, the only thing that could've stopped me then. When I approached him, he swung his staff at my head, which was the beginning of the end for Rajin. I ducked under his attack and in the blink of an eye, I jabbed him three times in the gut. This caused him to bend over in pain, which I took advantage of by slamming my knee into his nose. I continued to attack in a frenzy of punches and kicks all over Rajin's body, never giving him a chance to attack, if he could have done so that is. I found out later that Fujin had been preoccupied by Quistis and Selphie, which meant that Rajin didn't stand a chance. Finally realizing that I had beaten all of the fight out of him, I stopped my seemingly endless beat rush. He had enough energy to keep his balance, however wobbly, which meant I had to finish him off. I grabbed Rajin by the face and slammed his head onto the floor below.

Before I relaxed, I turned to Fujin and the others and decided to put an end to the fight. I yelled, "Get out of my town!!"

I casted a powerful Thundaga spell onto Fujin. Selphie and Quistis stepped back as a large lightning bolt came from above and struck Fujin, huge bolts of electricity flying every which way. She collapsed to the ground and said, "DEFEATED…"

Selphie, Quistis and I loomed over the two battered and bruised fighters, my anger slowly fading away as they were at our mercy. I coldly demanded, "You're gonna get out of Balamb and take your army with you. And I'm never going to see you around here again."

Fujin replied, "AFFIRMATIVE."

Quistis, the leader, needed to extract some information first. She asked, "Who is Ellone and why is Edea invading towns all over the world to find her?"

Fujin turned to Rajin. "EXPLAIN."

"Alright, alright, I knew all along, ya know. See, this Ellone has some kind of special ability. Like, I don't know what it is, but it must be really important if Edea is looking this hard for her, ya know. She won't tell us why she wants it or how she plans to use it, but she won't stop, ya know. She won't stop until she finds her, ya know."

Quistis responded, "So you two are taking orders from the sorceress?"

"NEGATIVE."

"The sorceress has nothin' to do with us, ya know!? We're actin' on our own! We're on Seifer's side, ya know!" Rajin mentioned. "Seifer has a lot of followers, but we're his only friends...we're a posse, ya know...? The Galbadian soldiers are only listening to Seifer 'cause they fear the sorceress. Without us, Seifer wouldn't have a posse, ya know...?"

I never did like Seifer, so I commanded Rajin and Fujin. "If you guys stand behind him that much...tell frickin' Seifer to stop this nonsense!"

"AFIRMATIVE."

Rajin added, "We ain't no sell-outs! We're behind Seifer all the way, ya know!?"

Quistis informed them, "Alright, if you want nothing to do with Balamb Garden, then that's up to you. Sorry to say this, but the next time we meet, we won't hold back."

Squall would have said it differently, more intimidating, but Quistis was still new at the whole leader thing, so I decided to not say anything about it. Rajin and Fujin got up and left, and within the hour the Galbadian army retreated back to their Garden and sailed away. Though I hated to admit it, what Rajin and Fujin had said touched me on some level. Even though Seifer was becoming even more of a jerk and siding with an evil sorceress, they still stayed beside him for the sake of friendship. I realized that I felt the same way about Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Squall. Almost like we had been friends for a really long time or something.

-----------------------

As we walked along the train tracks, I told Rinoa the entire story of my 'repeating time adventure' as I called it. I told her everything that I had told her the night before, but in even more detail. Rinoa would ask questions now and then, about the details involving a certain event or how I felt during that time. We held hands the entire time, which was quite a while since the story took so much time to tell. I tried not to tell Rinoa too much about her near-death experience in space, figuring that she might not have been ready to hear such a terrible thing. Maybe it was that I felt that by telling her about it, I would have been ensuring the repetition of the event later on.

I felt a connection with Rinoa like I had never felt with another person before. Even when I was young, at the orphanage, when I adored Ellone so much, it still didn't compare to my feelings for Rinoa. It was there, walking along the train tracks while the sun set over the horizon that I began to think of our future. Loving someone meant that you could picture yourself living happily with them in the future. Thinking of it made me delirious, imagining a life with Rinoa; how we would eventually move to a small town, get our own house, maybe even raise a few chocobos, have children…it made me so happy, yet the worry of the dreaded future remained ahead, one that could destroy my life with Rinoa and take away my delirious happiness.

Rinoa asked a very valid question, "There's something I don't understand. Before we left, you said that if this course continues, my life would be in danger. But you said that I lived through that near-death experience. So really, even if the course of your adventure continues the way it did last time, wouldn't I still live? If I do, then what are we doing going to Esthar and all?"

I'd thought of the answer long before she even thought about asking the question. "You see, some things have changed this time around. Instead of doing the train mission with you and the others before I reached Timber, I went with Ellone on her ship and never did that mission. The Galbadian missile base never exploded, I never fought Edea, and I kissed you last night. I don't know what can change and what cannot. I can't take the risk of you-" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"What are we going to find in Esthar?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I guess we'll look for Dr. Odine or Laguna. I'm sure that they'll be able to help somehow."

--------------------------

"So where are we going now?" Irvine asked.

"Hello, s'cuse me!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Yes, Selphie?" I asked.

"Have you decided on a destination?"

"Not yet."

"Um...can we maybe go to Trabia Garden? It's like...in the mountains, so maybe the sorceress will leave it alone...but maybe...you know?"

It was a better idea than I could think of right away. I'd figured that Selphie wanted to see Trabia, or at least what was left of it after the missile launch. I was still a tad bit angry with Selphie for suggesting that I had 'sister-like' feelings for Squall, but I wasn't so heartless as to keep Selphie from seeing her hometown. I felt that as a leader, I was doing the wrong thing by going to Trabia, that I should've been thinking more logically instead of emotionally. I guess I figured that Squall would have been doing things differently. Nevertheless, I instructed Nida to go North to Trabia Garden. 


	16. Chapter 16

Again

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

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Chapter 16

My fears had been justified; Trabia was completely destroyed. Since I had witnessed the missile launch outside of the sand prison, I had tried my best not to think of what could have happened. That never worked though, and my thoughts drifted to Trabia. I kept thinking the best, that the missiles didn't hit, or didn't hit very hard, or if there was some huge error that caused them to explode in mid-air. There was nothing I could do except wait and hear on the news or word of mouth about what happened to my home place.

Quistis was nice enough to let us pay a visit to the Garden in the North, but as we got closer, I kept thinking about my past. I had spent most of my life at Trabia Garden, since as far back as I remember. Being very social and outgoing, I had made so many friends there that nearly everyone knew who I was. I took the liberty to start and manage the Garden Festival, which was always a big hit. I thought back to the day that I left Trabia to transfer to Balamb; it was an emotional event, but I kept smiling, thinking about my future at Balamb Garden.

When I reached the front gate, it was clear that the missiles made a direct hit. It was too quiet, the ground was cracked and broken, and the gate was closed. Quistis, Zell, and Irvine silently kept their distance from me, giving me space to take in the tragedy. I knew that I could count on them to support me if I were to break down and cry, but I remained strong and optimistic. _Maybe everyone saw the missiles in time and took cover. Or maybe Gardens have some kind of missile defense system that we don't know about…God, please let everyone be alright._

I climbed a mass of wires hung over the wall to the right of the entrance. When my eyes peered over the gate to the destruction of Trabia, I felt tears starting to well up inside of me. I jumped down to the rugged, torn cement below, my mind registering what my eyes were telling me. I saw people moving around in the distance, in the center of the Garden. I ran towards them as fast as I could. _Hurry Selphie, they might need you! The sooner you get there, the sooner you'll be able to see all of your old friends!_

When I reached the Trabia square, as we all used to call it, the first person I noticed was none other than my very best friend, Victoria. I had known her ever since I had arrived at Trabia Garden and we had been best friends since. No conversation was off-limits, no issue was taboo, we knew each other as well as we knew ourselves. My memories of her had played a large part in my decision to return to Trabia then. I had so much to say but couldn't think of an opening line to my friend that I hadn't seen in almost a year.

Victoria looked up at me with sad, tired eyes and said, "Selphie…"

There was a mutual silence between us for a moment. In any ordinary circumstance, we would have been excited to see each other, jumping and laughing and reminiscing after our year-long separation. Instead, Victoria's normally infectious exuberance was replaced by what the ravages of war and terror had forced upon her. For all the years that I had known her, she had been able to brighten any darkness and remain optimistic in times of despair. Yet, everyone's optimism had their limits, and I was unfortunate to see hers.

"I'm glad you're here Seph. It's been awhile since I've seen a friend…" Victoria started to cry.

"No, no, come on, don't cry. You've got to stay focused. You've got to set an example for the people here when they need you to be strong. Remember, if you stay positive, other people will stay positive. I know it's hard to do, but you've got to try."

"…Yeah, you're right Seph. But it's just a lot to take sometimes, ya know?"

Quistis, Irvine, and Zell approached. Irvine said in a comforting tone, "Take all the time you need, okay? We'll be around, so just meet up with us when you're ready."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

They walked away from us, talking to people along the way, giving a hand whenever they could. Victoria asked, "Who are they?"

"They're my friends. We've been traveling all over the world. Being a SeeD requires it, ya know."

"You're a SeeD!? Oh my God, I can't believe it! It's what you've always wanted! Congratulations, SeeD." Victoria saluted me, excited at my recent accomplishment.

When I saw what happened to Trabia, I had immediately decided that I would discontinue my duties as a SeeD and stay in Trabia until it was rebuilt. It was a difficult decision to make; I loved traveling around with everyone, having such amazing adventures, but Trabia was my home and I owed it that much.

"Thanks Vic, but I don't know if I can continue after seeing all this. I should stay here and help everyone rebuild. You could use all the help you can get."

"…Thanks Seph, we really do need the help…but before you make your decision, I want you to see something."

Vic led me to a large open space occupied by countless headstones and dead earth. Each broken slab of concrete bore the crudely carved names of the people that lay six feet below. The scene I had never wanted to see, nothing before me was alive, everything was gone. _Why did this have to happen?…I knew these people, I liked these people. They had so much going for them in their lives. They didn't do anything wrong, but now they have no futures. Why? Because the sorceress saw them as a threat to her empire. The immediate solution? This…_

Normally, I was not a vengeful person; I could let things go fairly quickly and forget the past. But this was entirely different, the sorceress would make no apologies, she meant to do what she did. If my friends had been alive, they would have never forgiven Edea's heinous crime. If they couldn't get the revenge for themselves, I would have to do it for them.

I turned to face Vic and said, "I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind. I can't stay here in Trabia, I'm going after the sorceress."

Vic nodded in agreement. "I figured. You go get her, okay?"

"I will. And sorry about not staying."

"Don't worry about it. We'll pull through."

"Bye Vic, I'll come back when it's over." I hugged her goodbye and walked away to find the others.

"Hey Selphie…" Vic called to me. "Keep smiling!"

I turned and gave her a quick smile. She was right, there's no use in being sad, it's better to be happy. Or if you couldn't be happy, at least smile and set a good example for others.

------------------------

Zell, Irvine, and I walked around Trabia and eventually waited at the basketball court. People had once played basketball in the spot we were standing on. They had enjoyed life, been carefree, not worrying about the evils of the world. It was impossible to play anything there anymore; the ground was cracked and broken beyond repair.

"So what are we gonna do next?" Zell asked me.

"I don't know." I replied.

It was sad that the leader didn't know what to do or where to go. I hadn't done anything to help out Balamb Garden. It had been Xu's idea to go to Balamb and Selphie's idea to go to Trabia. All I was doing was just supervising, it seemed. I couldn't help but hang my head in shame at the realization that I had been such an irresponsible leader to everyone.

"…I'm sorry, everyone." I spoke to everyone.

"For what?" Zell asked confusedly.

"For being such a terrible leader to you all."

"Ah c'mon, Quistis, you've done nothing wrong. You can't be doing that bad of a job, right?"

"…Yeah, so far." _I might mess up pretty soon. I might cause others to endanger their lives. Squall could've done so much better than I. Why did he do this to me?_

"Quistis, I'm tired of you doubting yourself like this!" Selphie exclaimed. Apparently she had been there long enough to hear my self-depreciating remarks. "You used to be so confident, so full of life! What's happened to you? You can't be like this. Every single person in Balamb Garden is looking up to you, counting on you to be there for them. C'mon, it's time to bring back the old Quistis!"

The girl made a good case, I thought. So many people were depending on me and there I was acting so cheerless for no good reason. _I don't understand it, what's happened to my attitude lately? Why have I changed so drastically? I mean, Selphie had just now witnessed the destruction of her home place and the death of so many of her friends, and yet she's strong enough to support me in my time of need._

"You're right, there's no use being sad. I'm sorry, I don't know what's been going on with me lately. I say let's continue on, that is if you're ready to go, Selphie." I spoke confidently to everyone.

"Yeah!! That's the Quistis I know! Let's go get Galbadia for what they've done!!" Selphie said loudly.

"I agree, let's do this thing." Irvine commented.

"Sorceress Edea's going down! Boo yah!!" Zell shouted as he jumped in the air.

With that, we all left Trabia behind us, determined to get revenge for those who could not.

--------------------------

At long last, the train tracks came to and end, leaving us with the slowly dying afternoon sun. Rinoa and I had shared so much on the way, about the past, the future, and how we felt about things. I'd never been one to talk about my feelings, so it was difficult for me at first, but then Rinoa reminded me that I had nothing to be afraid of. I remembered back to the last time I had traversed those train tracks. It was the first time I had shared my innermost feelings with Rinoa or anyone for that matter; of course Rinoa was unconscious at the time, but it was still a new feeling for me.

Rinoa shivered. "Squall, it's getting cold."

"We're coming up on the ice caps. Don't worry, it won't be too long before we reach Esthar."

_Hey, what are you thinking? Give her your coat!_ I removed my black leather jacket and handed it to Rinoa. "Here, use this."

"But won't you be cold?"

"Don't you forget why we're doing this in the first place."

Rinoa gave a shy smile as I slipped my jacket into her bare arms. I didn't want to say anything, but I had to admit that Rinoa looked adorable in my jacket. I was probably cold, but I didn't notice. As long as Rinoa was comfortable, I was fine.

The biting cold wind greeted us as we approached the glaciers on the outskirts of the invisible city of Esthar. Rinoa and I drew our weapons in preparation for the many beasts that would prey on live game such as us. I gave Rinoa most of my fire magic, figuring that I'd be fine with just my gunblade. Rinoa was a fine fighter, but I felt that I should take on the responsibility of protecting the woman I loved. Of course, she wouldn't simply let me fight alone, and she ended up aiding me in the few fights we encountered.

The scenery of our icy surroundings were plain and unchanging, but extraordinarily beautiful. The shining ice looked like crystal, giving off reflections in every direction, light being absorbed from the sun and projected in a rainbow-like radiance. At one point, Rinoa and I paused to stare at the landscape before us, our arms wrapped around each other as we shared an understood silence.

As we traveled on, I looked for the glitch in the cloaking mechanism used to hide the unmistakingly massive city of Esthar. Out of the giant chasm to our left jumped out Abadon, the two-story undead reanimated skeleton of a monster. The remains of a fearful beast that once inhabited the Great Salt Lake outside of Esthar continued to be a formidable predator to those who did not know its weaknesses. Rinoa naturally stepped back in awe and terror at the sight of such a creature while I almost laughed at how easy the battle would be. Before, it had been a difficult battle until me and my allies discovered its supreme weakness, holy magic and items.

I asked Rinoa calmly, "Would you hand me the X-potion from my jacket please?"

Rinoa complied and shoved the X-potion into my hands and stepped away from Abadon. I lightly tossed the potion into the air to test its weight and pulled my arm back for the throw. The power of the X-potion was incredible; it could completely revitalize a person and heal all of their wounds, no matter how damaged they were, in an instant. I flung the potion at the monster and the glass vial shattered in its ribcage, spraying its contents all over Abadon's undead body. The normally healing liquid had the opposite effect on the undead as Abadon's bones quickly began to disintegrate. The X-potion would heal every inch of a person's body, and destroy every inch of an undead one. The healing liquid instantly traveled through the creature which turned it's body into dust as the unmoving Abadon stared blankly at the one who finally ended its life.

When Abadon became nothing more than dust in the wind, I looked back at an awe-stricken Rinoa with her mouth agape. I figured that she must have been shocked that such a large creature was destroyed so quickly and effortlessly. All I could tell her was, "Well that was easy."

"That _was_ easy."

As we ventured on, I could see that Rinoa was beginning to get cold, judging from the tight, however cute, expression on her face. "Don't worry, we're almost there." I assured.

"Umm, yeah, it doesn't really seem like it. I don't see anything except icecaps for miles. How can we almost be there?" Rinoa asked impatiently.

A flash of light appeared briefly in the sky directly above us, accompanied by a static-like noise. The light had materialized from out of nowhere, and would look quite confusing to the ignorant onlooker. I knew that it was a glitch in Esthar's cloaking system, and exclaimed to Rinoa, "Ah ha! There it is, we're here."

"We..we're where? And what was that flash of light? It looked like some kind of TV screen or something."

"It's Esthar's state-of-the-art cloaking system. We're actually right in front of Esthar."

It took Rinoa some seconds to grasp the idea, but figured that I knew what I was talking about, so she just shrugged, indicating that she didn't understand it, but would follow me anyways. I felt for the tangible, yet invisible, ladder leading to an air duct which would grant us access to Esthar. It was still as strange of an experience as before, ascending the nothing that I was climbing.

After climbing through the air duct, Rinoa and I were met with a large, circular elevator that would lead us into the city itself. After locating the activation switch on the wall, a pink energy shield emerged from the rim of the elevator and enclosed us within its wind-resistant form. The floor began to move at a great speed towards the city. Immediately, Rinoa and I were treated to the beautiful scenery of the enormous metropolis that was Esthar. As we flew past the city, I couldn't help but stare at Rinoa, who was so enveloped in the thrill of the city. I'd forgotten that she had never even had the chance to see this before, and she looked so excited and happy at that moment that I realized then that I wanted to show her the best things in life, that things weren't as bad as they seemed.

--------------------------

I called on the intercom, "Attention all Balamb Garden students; we will be departing in ten minutes. Again, we will be departing Trabia Garden in ten minutes. Please be on board as soon as possible. Our next destination is…"

I froze. I couldn't believe that I had gotten on the loud speaker without even knowing what I was going to say. There was a long pause as my mind quickly tried to think of something to say. I don't know why I said what I did, as it seemed quite strange since there was no reason to go in that direction, but all my mind could say was, "…South…we will be heading South. That is all."

Xu looked curiously at me, "Miss Trepe? Why the South?"

I was more confused than she was, but it almost seemed that it was a subconscious idea to go South. Almost as if something inside me was saying that an important memory or revelation awaited me there. I wouldn't normally trust such an unsure and illogical idea, but the feeling was that strong.


	17. Chapter 17

Again 

By Ramsey Anderson

All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.

_Author's note_ : There is a year and a half gap between when I wrote chapter 16 and this one, so expect the writing style from this point on to be somewhat different. Don't worry, it's good.

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Chapter 17

Rinoa and I had taken a cab to the Presidential Palace in the center of the city of Esthar in hopes of talking to Laguna. I had thought a lot about what we would do when we got there, but came up with few ideas. How could Laguna help us anyways? I just figured that if there was someone who could help it was him. I wasn't even quite sure how we were supposed to get past security. After all, he didn't know us and we had nothing to tell him.

Rinoa had been rather calm during this whole ordeal, I noticed. Here she was in a strange city with no idea where she was going, with me, a man she only met a few short days ago. I figured it was in her nature to be calm like that, to roll with any situation that may come her way. Not everyone could do that; I, for one, had had trouble adapting to this whole situation of repeating my journey. Even then I was confused on what exactly I was going to do from there.

At the Presidential Palace, we ran into two security guards in front of Laguna's office. The one on the left was a six-foot-seven brute of a man with stern facial features. The right one was about my height but stood with a certain grace that implied strength and skill. "Excuse me, may I help you?" the one on the left said in a voice as large as his size would expect.

I had memorized what I was going to say beforehand as to make sure that it sounded believable. "I have urgent news on Ellone. I need to speak to President Laguna immediately."

"You can tell me first, sir." the left one replied.

"I'm sorry, but it's a personal matter...look, could you tell him that I...knew Raine?" It was a lie, I never met Raine, but I knew that the mention of her name would get Laguna's attention.

The left guard signaled to the right one to go inside, presumably to tell Laguna of our presence. The left guard simply stared at me, never taking his eyes off of mine. I wasn't one to be intimidated, but this man did his job well. I couldn't muster the presence to continue the staring contest. I looked out at the city as the lights came on to make up for the loss of the light provided by the sun, now being replaced by the moon and stars. The moon had an ominous look to it, almost threatening.

The right security guard returned. "You may enter." he said.

The left guard still had his eyes fixed on me, this time with a look that said "don't try anything". I knew that it was his job to be intimidating, so it didn't bother me, it wasn't personal, after all. I took Rinoa's hand and led her into Laguna's office. The door shut behind us and the floor became transparent, the city directly under us, possibly to remind the president of whom he was working for.

Laguna was at the far end of the room, standing with his hand stroking his jaw, seemingly trying to place us at some point in his life, but having difficulty obviously since we had never met before. I took the liberty to speak first, "President Loire, you don't know me, but I need your help."

-----------------------------

"Miss Trepe, may I ask why we are heading south?" Xu asked me.

I didn't have a valid answer, I wasn't sure why I had said south either. "I don't know...intuition I suppose."

_Good one, Quistis, a sixth sense?_ I felt stupid for deciding the outcome of Garden and the people within simply based on some 'subconscious psychic thought', but I had no other ideas. Squall had left me in charge and I was doing my best without him, but I felt that whatever I did was a mistake.

"Yes ma'am, I believe that initial considerations and unconscious ideas are very important." Xu replied. I supposed that either she was agreeing with me because I was the leader or because she believed in my intuition. Either way, it comforted me to know that someone was backing me up.

"Thank you, Xu, I appreciate it."

"Of course, but Miss Trepe, wouldn't it be a good idea to go north from here seeing as we are so far north already? Going north will lead us to the south faster."

She was right on. I still thought that she should have been commander, but Squall had chosen, cursed, me with this job. "Yes, head north please, Xu."

Irvine and Zell came up the elevator to the control room where Xu, Nida, and I were. As if Zell had been in Xu's mind, he said, "Hey Quistis, I was just wondering, why south?"

"I'm not sure. Just a...guess?"

"I only ask because I got this feeling when you said south over the intercom just now, like it felt right. I don't even know why it felt right, but Irvine agrees with me, right Irv?"

"There IS something in the south, I tell you. There's something...familiar... about it?" Irvine said in a slightly curious tone, as if he knew something that we didn't. I didn?t ask him about it, but it felt nice to have everyone on my side like that.

-----------------------------

I wasn't sure if Laguna believed anything I said. After all, I didn't have too much credibility to back up what I was saying. Yet he listened, so he must have believed me to some extent. He was a busy man, after all. I explained how the Lunatic Pandora was going to resurface from the ocean and move to Tears Point, therefore causing the Lunar Cry, which would not only bring innumerous monsters, but the sorceress of the past, Adel, down to Earth.

I wanted to save the world from the Lunar Cry and not to mention Adel, but the core reasoning behind my intentions were to save Rinoa. I felt that by not stopping the Lunar Cry, somehow Rinoa would end up in space again, and I would have to try to save her again. And then there was the fear that I wouldn't be able to save her this time. I had nightmares about it, seeing Rinoa floating endlessly in space, never to be seen or heard from again... No more curious smiles, no more outrageous comments, no more cute angry nose that she gets sometimes, nothing at all. I couldn't face it, the rest of my life, knowing that I could have done something to save her, but didn't. It was my responsibility to myself, to my future self, to do everything in my ability to prevent the Lunar Cry.

Finally I stopped talking. Laguna paused for a long minute, then spoke, "You said that you knew Raine." Seems that either Laguna was trying to contest my believability or his emotions for Raine were getting the better of the situation, or both.

"She lived in Winhill most of her life and took care of you when you had gotten yourself injured during your Galbadian soldier days. You fell in love with her...and she fell in love with you. But...neither of you ever told the other. You left Winhill, and you never saw her again. She died some time afterwards." I realized that Laguna had his head hanging down, a tear falling from his unseen eyes. "I'm sorry..." I said.

Back to normal, being the incredible optimist that he was, he wiped his eyes and said, "Don't be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry." Regret over never telling Raine his feelings had been hidden somewhere inside. I brought them out, intentionally, to add credit to my probably crazy-sounding prophecy of doom. It felt deceptive, but I had no choice.

"Look, we don't have much time, can you help us or not?" I was getting impatient; I felt that time was running out.

"You say that the Lunatic Pandora, which was sunk into the ocean long ago, will resurface and make its way to Tears Point? How exactly is this supposed to happen?" Laguna inquired.

"Seifer Almasy, a former fellow student of mine at Balamb garden, will gain control of the Galbadian troops, which is a considerable force as you probably know. He will find Esthar and...somehow...bring back the Lunatic Pandora."

Come to think of it, I hadn't known exactly how Seifer had done it. Most likely it involved the Lunatic Pandora Research Facility outside of Esthar, but I wasn't even sure of that. But that's what I was hoping Laguna could clear up.

---------------------------

"Look Squall, Rinoa, I'd love to believe what you've told me today, but where's the proof? I want to help you in any way I can, but I've got to look out for the citizens here as well, and I can't simply waste a bunch of money on some 'theory', you know." I told them.

I somehow knew these people, at least the guy, Squall, from somewhere at some time. The only questions were: who, what, when, where, and how? They did mention Raine, after all. I also knew somehow that what they were telling me was the truth. Not just intuition, but I had heard of Galbadia's sudden change in leadership. I also realized that Galbadia could become a threat to Esthar and Estharians alike. But there was only so much I could do to help Squall.

_I'm the president, which means I have a duty to protect the citizens of this city from harm and maintain peace at all costs. The Lunatic Pandora should have been destroyed. It has no use to Esthar anymore, if it ever did at all. I suppose this has been long overdue...It can't be destroyed, but maybe its resurrection can be stopped. I can't order any soldiers to help them, but maybe there's still something I can still do?_

I got up out of my seat and walked over to Kiros. I whispered to him my wishes. Nobody must know that I had anything to do with this project. It wasn't just to protect myself, but the panic that could ensue from the worried public. Kiros knew what to do, and that's why he's my secretary.

-----------------------------

Kiros walked over to us after taking what appeared to be some sort of rolled up poster or map from a desk. He searched through some files and added another sheet to the roll of paper. He told us, "The president would like to send his apologies and deny your request. He hopes you will accept this gift as recompense for your trouble. Good luck to you in your endeavors."

And with that, we were dismissed. Rinoa and I walked towards the door, but I paused before leaving to look at Laguna. He nodded slightly and walked away. I did the same. I wanted to open the rolled up piece of paper so badly I felt childish, like it was some kind of Christmas present. I wasn't sure what it was, but it would surely be thing that we traveled so far and long for. We exited the Presidential Palace and chose a bench that was away from prying eyes.

---------------------------

It took less than an hour to reach our destination. I found that our destination had been a continent in the south. There was a lighthouse on one end near the ocean, not in working order, and yet we somehow managed to find our way there, out of pure chance it seemed. I had been watching the Garden's course the entire time, hoping I'd find something that would catch my eye so it didn't seem like we had gone all that way for nothing. The lighthouse had caught my eye immediately. I knew right away that it was the reason why we were there.

"There Nida, the lighthouse. Land as close to it as possible." I ordered.

"Roger, commander!" Nida replied.

_Yes, I somehow know this place. But from where and when? Maybe Irvine knows, or possibly Zell or Selphie._ I called Irvine, Zell, and Selphie to the deck and they came quite promptly, minus Selphie.

"Where's Selphie?" I asked.

"She's taking a nap. This whole Trabia thing has been tough on her, so it's probably best to let her sleep." Zell responded.

"Well, that's okay, I guess. Hey, do either of you recognize that lighthouse over there?" I asked as I pointed to the structure across the way.

Irvine didn't answer right away; he seemed to wait for Zell. "Lighthouse? Nah, I don't think so...but hey, it does kinda look familiar doesn't it? I think I saw it on TV or something." Zell replied.

"Well, we're going there. I feel that-"

"Commander, I think you should take a look at this?" Nida interrupted and then handed me the binoculars.

I zoomed in on the area that Nida pointed out and observed Galbadia Garden, hovering over a nearby forest, waiting for us. Immediately, I knew what they wanted. They wanted war. We were an obstacle that they sought fit to remove. With Trabia Garden destroyed, Balamb Garden was the only remaining opposition. Somehow they knew to find us here, or at least Seifer did. Either he had a great knack for guessing or it was something else, that he knew our intentions, which seemed impossible considering I didn't even know my intentions.

"Commander Trepe, we must prepare for battle. Give your orders. Be stern, but calm. They need you to be their leader now more than any other time. Are you going to be okay?" Xu asked.

_Squall...you knew this was going to happen, didn't you? You knew we were going to battle Galbadia Garden, so you gave me those orders in case we did?well, let?s just hope you were right..._

_-----------------------_

The 'present' appeared to be a map of the continent of Esthar, with one notable marking-a red X marked in the middle of nowhere, not near anything to landmark the position or anything, just a small, precisely marked X with one word written on the side in the same marker: Ultima. It didn't take me long to figure out what it meant. All over the world there were numerous draw points that were invisible to the naked eye, but were otherwise like any other draw point one would encounter. Some contained powerful and rare magic. The X must have denoted such an invisible draw point, containing the ultimate attack magic, Ultima. The magic would instantly destroy most enemies in one blow, with nothing left in its wake.

There were other rolled up pieces of paper given to us, but they looked more like blueprints. On further examination, they were the blueprints of the Lunatic Pandora Research Facility located southeast of Esthar. There was another red marking, this time a circle at a specific point in the facility. It was fairly deep into the building, so I imagined that it was important.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what 2+2 meant. Laguna had discreetly given us the information we needed to stop the Lunatic Pandora from surfacing. I was going to have to infiltrate the research facility and destroy the machine necessary to resurface the horrible contraption, thereby hopefully preventing the Lunar Cry from ever happening.

_Well, this is different._


End file.
